Miami Dolphins: Stephen Ross Again Proves He’s Awful

Stephen Ross just doesn’t get it. He never really has. Since buying the Miami Dolphins it’s never felt like his true endgame was winning.

In fact, Ty Schalter of The Comeback had a great line about him in an article three years ago when ranking the NFL owners. “But a lot of his early efforts seemed tone-deaf, beside the point, aimed more at creating a culture of excitement rather than success.” It’s a great line with plenty of truth behind it. Since taking over in 2008, the Dolphins have made the playoffs just twice during Ross’ run as owner and both times they were crushed in the playoff opener.

Most of the big moves made by the Dolphins didn’t seem geared towards building a winner rather than creating a buzz. Signing Ndamukong Suh to that massive contract a few years ago is one example. It got people talking but in the end, didn’t serve the overall purpose of building a winner. Miami made the playoffs once during Suh’s time with the team. Could that money have been put to better use?

Since then new information has come out that continues to shed light on where Ross’ true motivations are at.

Ross tried to sabotage Miami Dolphins draft efforts

Few things make life more difficult for a GM and coaches than a meddling owner. Granted, it’s only fair. These men own the teams and are well within their rights to do what they wish. That said, most owners aren’t football guys. They’re shrewd businessmen who happen to like football. Or perhaps in Ross’ case, see it as a great moneymaking endeavor.

That was on display when the Boston Globe revealed that he tried to convince his subordinates to trade back from the 11th pick in the draft, but not for the reasons one might think.

There’s plenty of prior evidence to support this rumor being true. It’s been clear that generating revenue is the ultimate goal for Ross. If the team happens to win in the process, so be it. That doesn’t make it a priority. After all, given the league’s success, it’s fairly easy to make money without trying too hard to build a winner. Saving a couple million dollars by trading back in the 1st round sounds exactly like something he’d embrace.

Kudos to the team brass for finding a way to talk him out of it. Minkah Fitzpatrick is a tremendous talent who should end up making the Pro Bowl someday. If they get more like him, the winning and the money will follow soon enough.