MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (CBS12) — Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross says he has faith in Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and that Monday’s firing of head coach Brian Flores has nothing to do with clashing viewpoints on the quarterback situation, or the Deshaun Watson rumors the Dolphins have been involved in.
“Let me be clear, it played no role at all,” says Ross. “I have a lot of confidence in Tua and I think the next head coach will work with him, or whoever else, but I have a lot of confidence in him. I have watched him grow. I think he’s a fine young man and he is right now the quarterback and that will be dependent upon the new head coach but I have a lot of confidence in Tua.”
That said, Ross did indicate that their was a disconnect between Flores and the Dolphins organization. “I’ve been looking at this over three years now and watching the organization grow,” said Ross. “I think an organization can only function if it is collaborative and it works well together. I don’t think that we were really working well as an organization that it would take to really win consistently at the NFL level.”
Ross confirmed that General Manager Chris Grier will remain with the organization, and that the team is well suited to win with a new head coach. “If you look at our roster today, you see our salary cap and the players we have, I think we are well suited for the future.”
That future with not include Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, even though Ross is a huge admirer of Harbaugh, who coaches for his alma mater. “He had the opportunity once before to come to the Miami Dolphins. But he’s at the University of Michigan as everybody really knows. That is the school that I graduated from and I’m very involved in it, and I’m not going to be the person that takes Jim Harbaugh from the University of Michigan. I hope he stays there. He is a great coach.”
