Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is likely to revisit the idea of hiring current 49ers HC Jim Harbaugh after the season if they miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.
Dolphins HC Joe Philbin obviously still has an opportunity to save his job, but he’ll be up against the Patriots this weekend before closing out the year with the Vikings and Jets. Should they win today, there is a decent chance that they will get into the playoffs.
According to Salguero’s sources, Ross believes the Dolphins are a very good job for any prospective head coach and with a few roster adjustments and new a head coach, they could be a great team.
Both Ross and Harbaugh went to the University of Michigan, which could help the Dolphins’ case, assuming all other issues are considered equal.
However, reports continue to mention that Harbaugh’s wife prefers to be on the west coast and the Oakland Raiders are known to have serious interest in him. Not only would this allow Harbaugh to remain in the Bay Area, but it would be about as easy of a transition as it gets in the NFL.
Salguero admits that if they are unable to lure Harbaugh to Miami, the possibility exists that Philbin could be back for another, even if they miss the playoffs.
“Ross, privately wanting to upgrade from Philbin but finding no viable option, could then decide to stick with the current coach,” writes Salguero. “The idea of keeping a coach who has been competitive and might finally coax the team into the postseason next season might trump the idea of hiring another coach of unknown quality.”
Harbaugh will clearly be one of the most popular offseason topics, so we’ll have updates as the news is available.
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