Miami Dolphins: Anger at Ownership is Misguided

Miami Dolphin fans like to blame owner Stephen Ross for a lot of the franchise’s troubles, but that anger is misguided.

Jeffery Loria, owner of the Miami Marlins baseball franchise, is one of the worst owners in all of American sports, if not the worst. This has spoiled Miami fans view on owners, as they give other team owners too much credit or too much blame for a team’s success or struggles.

Micky Arison, the Miami Heat owner, is well-regarded among Miami fans. Arison, like most great owners, hands off the day-to-day operations to a basketball mind in Pat Riley, and tends not to meddle where he is not needed.

Since his team wins, Arison gets credit from fans for running a team the right way and being a good owner.

On the other hand, Miami Dolphin owner Stephen Ross is a loathed name among Miami fans.

Miami Dolphins fans blame Ross for the fact the team has been mediocre for the past decade plus, even though he has done what most other owners, including Arison, do in trying to build a winning franchise.

Unlike both Arison and Ross, Loria is bemoaned by Marlins fans for meddling with his team’s affairs on a day-to-day basis.

Because the Miami Heat have had more success over the past two decades, Arison is credited with being a great owner. Because the Dolphins have struggled to win games, fans don’t believe he spends enough time concentrating on his football team.

In fact, last year Miami Herald reporter Armando Salguero accused Ross of being an absentee owner, because he spends more time in New York than he does in Miami.

In his article, Salguero mentions that Ross spends more time at his real estate office than he does the Dolphins office. That is a laughable thing to get worked over on, as Ross has made his money from being a real estate mogul, not from owning a football team.

Ross is an expert on the real estate market, not a football GM expert. That’s why he hires people to run the team. He knows his role and has stayed within that, as any good owner should.

Arison runs his Carnival Cruise business and lets Riley run the NBA day-to-day operations, but Arison is not defamed like Ross for having the same process.

One of the biggest knocks against Ross is his failure to get then Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh to accept an offer to become the Miami Dolphin head coach in 2011. Harbaugh went on to sign on as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers that same off-season.

Harbaugh spurning the Dolphins for another team has left a permanent black eye in the views of Dolphins fans for Ross.

The truth is Ross went for the home run swing and unfortunately fell short. He should not be condemned for that. If Arison did not go for the home run with Riley years back, the team might not be in the same standing as a franchise as they are.

Last September, Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel, pointed to the top of the Miami organization for where to point the blame.

Kelly called Ross too patient and too loyal.

Jan 3, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New England Patriots outside linebacker Dekoda Watson (53) rushes as Miami Dolphins tackle Branded Albert defends and quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) prepares to throw in the first half at Sun Life Stadium where the Dolphins defeated the Patriots 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Innerarity-USA TODAY Sports /

The opposite charge is used against Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and they are 100 percent true. However, Heat owner Arison gets plenty of credit for being too loyal, as the franchise’s entire reputation has been built on the term “family.” Although some of the Heat roster moves the past year have indicated the opposite, in the sake of avoiding the franchise avoiding having to pay a luxury tax.

So the double standards apply because the Heat win more games on the field?

For all intents and purposes, the Dolphins process is actually better than the one the Heat have. The Dolphins have run into less fortune in the luck department than the Heat though.

While Loria and Arison have had their team venues publicly paid for, Ross had to dig into how own pockets to make renovations to his stadium when the city of Miami voted against funding the renovations.

The ruling against actually cost the Dolphins a Super Bowl bid and several millions of dollars.

Ross and the Miami Dolphins were awarded the 2020 Super Bowl after Ross dropped over $500 million of his own money in total renovations cost on Tuesday afternoon.

Jeffrey Loria is a terrible sports franchise owner. He has hurt the Marlins more than he has helped them in his tenure. Both Stephen Ross and Micky Arison are just like the majority of owners, that prefer to stay out of the day-to-day affairs of their franchises.

Unfortunately for Ross, his team has not had the same success as the Heat franchise, so he is viewed negatively.

Ross is not the problem with the Miami Dolphins. He has done his role well as an owner, unfortunately it has not translated onto on field success.

Likewise, Arison is not the reason the Miami Heat win. However, Loria is a major reason the Miami Marlins lose and fans should not be putting Ross in the same vein as Loria.

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