When Jim Harbaugh was making the move from Stanford to the NFL in 2011, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross made a trip to visit Harbaugh to talk about the job while the late Tony Sparano was still the head coach in Miami.
Harbaugh chose the 49ers and Sparano was fired during the 2011 season after going 4-9 in the first 13 games. Todd Bowles took over as the interim coach for the final three weeks, which brings us back to Harbaugh and coaching moves.
Bowles is the head coach of the Jets for at least another week and PFT reported on Sunday that the team plans to make a run at hiring Harbaugh to replace him. According to Ross, the Dolphins won’t be a competitor.
Ross told the Miami Herald that he will not try to hire Harbaugh away from Michigan. Harbaugh has said that he is staying in Ann Arbor.
As was the case in 2011, the Dolphins currently have a head coach under contract and Ross has given no concrete answer about whether Adam Gase is going to remain in Miami for a fourth season.
Even if the Dolphins are sticking with Gase, Ross could try to get in the way of Harbaugh moving to the Jets or any other NFL team. He went to Michigan and is a major donor to the school, so could get involved in putting together a reason for Harbaugh to stay put if necessary.