Mr. Scot

Same. Are the Dolphins really that stupid?

Don't know what that means, but it sounds bad.

For the last several years, that hasn't happened much anyway, but Matt Rhule has likely made it even more difficult. (could probably also say that of Kliff Kingsbury)

No argument with any of that...

Context is a big deal to me. Gruden had his championship season, then plunged the team so deep into mediocrity that it took over a decade to even start digging out. On the flipside, Mike Tomlin hasn't led the Steelers to a Super Bowl in a while, but he has won two and even outside of that always has the team in contention. Even if it were only one ring though, I'd much rather have a Tomlin than a Gruden. We used to complain that Jerry Richardson seemed "just happy to be included" at the NFL tablr. When I see us talking like someone could come in, hang around for a couple of years, get a ring and then take off, maybe even leaving us worse off, definitely put us in the position of having to search all over again, we sound like the girl that's just happy somebody invited us to prom, even if it was some loser we didn't even like. Are we such a poverty fanbase that someone who gets us a single championship deserves our eternal undying gratitude and devotion? Guess we're the girl you f--- rather than the one you marry. And I suppose for some, that's enough. Just not me...

I'd think the opposite, honestly. If I recall correctly, there was a similar circumstance when Pete Carroll left Southern California.

Is Gruden a successful coach? Would you want him here?

I'm saying I'd like to aim for higher than just that.

Meanwhile...

I hear this a lot. People want to go all in for a single season, max out free agency, trade away a load of draft picks, etc. When I ask "even if that means sucking for a decade after that, the answer is invariably "yes". Me? I'd rather be great for the long term.

One ring and we'll be happy from now on? Not sure I agree. We used to make fun of Buc fans still talking about winning the Super Bowl five to ten years down the road. Now we want to be like them?;

Football isn't the real world.

By year four, a lot of players hated Harbaugh. There was a lot of roster turnover too.

Kaye was asked about Harbaugh in his mailbag... @DONALDC58 ON TWITTER ASKS: WOULD THE TEAM REALLY REACH INTO THE COLLEGE RANKS AGAIN AFTER THE FAILED EXPERIENCE WITH MATT RHULE? AND WOULD JIM HARBAUGH REALLY WANT THE CAROLINA POSITION WITH THE TENUOUS QB SITUATION? The Charlotte Observer confirmed on Tuesday that Panthers owner David Tepper recently spoke with University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. That conversation was not a formal interview. Having said that, Harbaugh isn’t just a “college coach.” In fact, he’s more of a unicorn candidate than anyone else currently making the rumor mill churn. Harbaugh is a former NFL quarterback, who has had notable coaching success in the NFL and the college ranks. He’s also a proven QB developer — Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers and Andrew Luck with Stanford — who has a sharp offensive mind. Essentially, he checks most boxes for what owners are looking for in the modern NFL. On paper, comparing Harbaugh to Matt Rhule is like comparing an entire fruit salad to an orange. Harbaugh’s college success has trumped Rhule’s resume by a mile. And on top of that, Harbaugh is a former NFL player and a head coach who led his team to a Super Bowl matchup. In regards to the follow-up question, Harbaugh has stated that not winning a Super Bowl is unfinished business in the NFL. The Athletic reported earlier this week that multiple sources close to Harbaugh believe he will head to the NFL if offered a job. Harbaugh interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings’ opening last year, but he was passed over for Kevin O’Connell. While Kirk Cousins is a polarizing quarterback, he wasn’t seen as being on solid ground ahead of O’Connell’s hiring. He signed a contract extension after O’Connell — whom he worked with in Washington — was hired. In the interest of the Panthers, another question should be asked: Does Carolina want another overarching program-builder after the way Rhule led the team to failure? Overarching NFL dictators are few and far between in the annals of league success. Just like in the movie business, it’s hard to find a talent who can write, direct and star in a successful venture in the NFL. Harbaugh was let go in San Francisco, at least partially, because of a reported power struggle gone awry. Who is to say he won’t repeat that approach in Charlotte? For as much as Harbaugh might want to be the Bradley Cooper-type and create his own “A Star is Born” success story, Tepper might view that approach as antithetical to the process. For every Bill Belichick or Pete Carroll, there is a Rhule or Chip Kelly. Tepper knows that firsthand, and because of that knowledge, he might be hesitant to go all in on a coach with a history of wanting to own an entire program. Or, he might welcome the opportunity to get that style of operation right this time around. For what it’s worth, Queen City News anchor Will Kunkel, who first reported the conversation between Harbaugh and the Panthers, reported Tuesday that Harbaugh told the outlet that he believes he will be coaching at Michigan next season. Link

As far as the people closest to the situation... The players definitely want Wilks. They may not get what they want, and maybe they shouldn't, but nobody can doubt they would follow him.

And the general consensus on Minshew is that he's not a bad quarterback...

Weren't you on here vehemently defending Matt Rhule?

That's the part that scares me. Trusting in David Tepper's judgment and decision making is...a tall task. No matter who he ends up picking, the first thought that's likely to go through my mind will be "Did we just make a huge mistake?"

Pretty much. Heck, from what I've read, college rivalry talk is pretty near constant in the average NFL locker room.

I think the best summary I've heard of Kaepernick's situation was from someone who said that NFL teams will put up with an awful lot if they think you can help them win games. If your playing skills aren't as good, their tolerance level goes way way down.

I get the argument. I just don't know if I can agree.

You're not the first to describe him that way. Although Harbaugh is obviously talented as a coach, "impossible to deal with and wears you out" would concern me...a lot.

The latest from LaCanfora... It’s still most likely, in the estimation of executives and coaching agents I’ve contacted, that he remains in Ann Arbor, where his previous dalliance with the Minnesota Vikings — and College Football Playoff appearance — earned him a reworked contract a year ago. He backed that up with another playoff appearance this season before his Wolverines were upset by TCU on New Year’s Eve. Brace yourself for breathless report after breathless report about what he’s thinking and where he’s going — Harbaugh was mentioned in this space last week as part of the coming onslaught of Denver Broncos rumors — but one opportunity is likely to stand out. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s quirky, doomed-from-the-start experiment — seeing if a former player turned middling high school coach turned broadcaster could come in cold off his couch midseason and replace a beloved coach on a team without a viable starting quarterback — has gone as expected. Jeff Saturday has been a disaster, the Colts are now a laughingstock among their peers, and it’s difficult even to start to explain how an NFL team could go from allowing 33 points in the fourth quarter one week to blowing a 33-point lead the following week to going 0 for 10 on third down while amassing 173 yards in a (20-3) prime-time home defeat the following week to being down 31-3 early in the third quarter Sunday, the final act of an abysmal four-week stretch. But by golly, the Colts have pulled it off! That is the fruit born of Irsay’s brainchild. And he has alienated a good bit of the coaching community in the process, a result served back to him by opposing staffs gleefully running up the score whenever possible amid this six-game losing streak. He needs an established, accomplished NFL coach to attempt to dig out of this hole, and his old buddy (and former starting quarterback) Harbaugh could fit the bill. “Captain Comeback,” coming back to Indianapolis? “There or nowhere,” said one NFL coaching agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because speaking freely about the market could compromise his clients’ opportunities. “Harbaugh is almost impossible to deal with and wears you out, and Irsay is out to lunch. He can’t get [top coaches] to take him seriously, but these two are a match. That’s the best [Irsay] can do, and Harbaugh thought he had the Minnesota job a year ago and lost out to a guy who never coached before” in Kevin O’Connell. Another coaching agent agreed that Irsay landing Harbaugh might be the best way to try to win back a fan base and local media corps he has alienated. One general manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is precluded from speaking about other teams’ front offices, said: “In a weird way, they were kind of made for each other.” It would be quite a combination, for however long it lasted, should it come to pass.