Miami keeps Sporano

[DJT]

The Miami Dolphins will retain head coach Tony Sparano, a source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Thursday night.

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh met earlier Thursday with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross in the San Francisco area about the Dolphins' job, sources told Mortensen.

Ross resumed the meeting Thursday night with Harbaugh's agent, David Dunn, in Southern California after the Dolphins owner traveled south to satisfy an unrelated business commitment following his meeting with Harbaugh, the sources said.

Ross hoped to persuade Harbaugh to take the job and travel to Miami on his private jet to introduce him as his new coach by Friday or this weekend, the sources added.

Sparano will fulfill the final year on his contract. He has been working this week at the team's complex in Davie, Fla., and when he took an afternoon walk Thursday, he encountered a cluster of media staking out the facility.

"You guys need to find a better hobby," Sparano said.

Hmmmm Maybe they have their eyes on Luck???

 

[A.E]

Wow...this just created a ton of pressure for Sporano to "stick it" to his own organization in 2011. In a perfect world, the Dolphins do really well in 2011 & when Stephen Ross wants to re-sign him long-term...Tony decides to hop a plane and go interview with other teams.

Nobody likes to be a fallback plan but Tony is a class act and I don't think he'd turn his back on those players and what they've worked towards for the past few seasons. Tony has a lot of talent in Miami, they play in a division with 2 upper echelon teams...he needs a freaking quarterback. Think about it...one of the best OT's in the game, one of the best WR's in the game, one of the best LB's in the game...they need to get a quarterback.

Chad Henne is not the answer and yes, I am about to blow my own horn......I've said this for the past couple seasons. Not even Chad's one good season captured my better judgment.

 

[playmaker7]

I've always thought Chad was average AT BEST btw

Anyways, I'm actually glad they're keeping him haha. Good shit Dolphins =)

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

Sparano told he'll stay with Dolphins despite Harbaugh talks​

Tony Sparano has been told he will return for a fourth season as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, a league source told NFL Network insider Michael Lombardi on Thursday night.

Speculation has swirled that Sparano's job was in serious jeopardy following a second consecutive 7-9 season, coupled with the Dolphins' courtship of former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher; current ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, who coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders; and most recently Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh.

A late-season collapse by the Dolphins put Sparano's job in peril. He has one year left on his contract and was at work at the team's complex in Davie, Fla., while Ross was on the other side of the country courting Harbaugh.

Sparano tried to make the best of the bizarre situation. While still uncertain of his fate, he took an afternoon walk outside the team offices Thursday and encountered a cluster of media staking out the facility.

"You guys need to find a better hobby," Sparano said.

The odd sequence of events threatened to undermine the authority of a coach whose status already was shaky because of a late-season meltdown. The Dolphins lost their final three games this season, including a 38-7 drubbing at New England in their finale last Sunday.

Sparano led Miami to the AFC East title in 2008, his first year as an NFL coach. He has a three-year record of 25-23 with the Dolphins, who haven't won a playoff game since 2000 and haven't reached the Super Bowl since 1984.

Sparano has been spared, but Thursday brought a notable change to the Dolphins' coaching staff nonetheless. The Miami Herald reported that offensive coordinator Dan Henning will not return after agreeing with Sparano that it would be best to part ways, according to a source close to the coordinator.

It's unclear whether Henning will look for new employment or retire. He served as offensive coordinator in Miami for three seasons.

La Canfora reported earlier Thursday that a source close to the Harbaugh situation estimated the coach's job decision ultimately could come down to the two Bay Area entities -- Stanford and the San Francisco 49ers.

There's still the possibility that attempting to pry Harbaugh away from Stanford will prove to be a fruitless exercise. The coach remains a very real candidate to stay at the school, according to a source, after meeting with the president of the university and the provost.

According to The Associated Press, Stanford made an amended offer to Harbaugh with enhancements from an offer presented in early December.

Including all bonuses and clauses, Harbaugh could earn more at Stanford than with the 49ers, who met with the coach Wednesday and have offered around $4.5 million to $5 million. Also, Harbaugh's quarterback, Andrew Luck, announced Thursday that he will not apply for entry into the 2011 NFL Draft.

Harbaugh returned Tuesday to the Bay Area following Stanford's 40-12 Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech in the stadium that Ross owns. Ross, Dolphins CEO Mike Dee and general manager Jeff Ireland were on the Stanford sideline before the game.

Ross flew to the Bay Area late Wednesday and departed California for Florida 24 hours later without a new coach.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[A.E]

Oddly enough, the Dolphins are reportedly prepared to sign Sporano to an extension that would run to 2013. I am beginning to think either Stephen Ross was given a bode of confidence from executives that have been in place, concerning Sporano...or Ross was simply looking to upgrade, meaning this was more of a credit to Harbaugh and less of a knock on Sporano. I also heard some shit that the team was thinking about hiring Magenie as some team advisor...being that he knows the AFC East so well.

Get Sporano a quarterback now, keep Ronnie Brown for another season, then get a younger set of legs in 2012.