Stephen Ross has been the majority owner of the Miami Dolphins since 2009, and for the first time since becoming an owner, he has a decision to make that he has never had before.
Last week, the Dolphins' owner made a decision that fans have been waiting for. He and Chris Grier "mutually" parted ways. Now, he has to find a new general manager.
The last time Ross went through a real GM search, he settled on Dennis Hickey after other candidates dropped out. Hickey didn't last long, and in 2016, Grier was hired after a relatively soft search by Ross, Mike Tannenbaum, and the other Dolphins executives.
Stephen Ross will have to hire a new general manager and let him decide on Mike McDaniel's future
If we look back through Ross' ownership, this will be the first time that the general manager position will be vacant, and the head coaching job likely will be as well. All he has to do is not meddle or give the next GM stipulations about keeping McDaniel.
If we look back at the last 16 years of Ross' ownership, we can see the trend that has to stop this year.
- 2009: GM - Jeff Ireland - HC - Tony Sparano - Ross inherited them from Wayne Huizenga
- 2012: GM - Jeff Ireland - HC - Joe Philbin
- 2014: GM - Dennis Hickey - HC - Joe Philbin
- 2016: GM - Chris Grier - HC - Adam Gase
2016 was an interesting year, because while it would seem Ross had the opportunity he has now, he actually did not. Mike Tannenbaum was Ross's right-hand man in the coaching search. Tannenbaum brought Gase into the fold, given his friendship with Gase's agent, Jimmy Sexton.
What the Dolphins didn't do, but now have the opportunity to do, is give the new GM full control over the search for a head coach. The problem? Stephen Ross isn't someone who can keep his hands out of the search.
The departure of Grier is still fresh, but the talk throughout the league is that Ross wants to keep McDaniel as the team's head coach. It seems he believes the problems are personnel and not necessarily coaching. Dolphins fans will love that...