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Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross fired head coach Brian Flores after three seasons.
Ross shot down rumors he's filling the vacancy with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh,
"I have no coach in mind at this point. We're going to do a thorough review and interview process," Ross said with a laugh. "And Jim Harbaugh, I love Jim Harbaugh. He had the opportunity once before to come to the Miami Dolphins. But he's at the University of Michigan. ... That is my school I graduated from, and I'm very involved in it. And I'm not going to be the person to take Jim Harbaugh from the University of Michigan. I hope he stays there. He's a great coach."
Ross' decision to fire Flores is said had as much to do with the culture off the field as it did with the team's performance.
"I've been looking at this over three years now and watching the organization grow," Ross said. "And I think an organization can only function if it's collaborative, and it works well together. And 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."
Miami was expected to compete for an AFC East title after finishing 10-6 and missing the playoffs in 2020. The team lost seven straight, putting itself in a hole but, responded with a seven-game winning streak.
That streak came to a stop when the Dolphins were blown out by the Tennessee Titans, knocking them out of playoff contention for the fifth straight season.
Flores went 24-25 in his tenure with the Dolphins and 4-2 against his former boss, Bill Belichick.
"I am grateful most of all for the players, coaches and support staff who gave everything they had on a daily basis to help us win games. They deserve the credit for any success on the field, and it was the honor of a lifetime for me to go to work with them every day. I have always believed that leadership is really about service, and I did my best to serve the players, the staff and the organization every day. I believe in this team and will always value the relationships my family and I made here," Flores said.