Dolphins Owner Reportedly Wants Andrew Luck, Canceled Kyle Orton Trade

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is a smart man. His team is 0-4 and he recognizes the key to winning consistently in the NFL is having a franchise quarterback. He believes the Dolphins do not have one, and according to The Miami Herald, he aims to bring in a franchise quarterback, as well as a big-name head coach or GM.

“Ross wants a franchise quarterback at the helm in 2012,” The Herald says. “He is said to be committed to veer away from any attempt that would add a ‘caretaker’ quarterback as a potential starter. He is said to be tired of watching the Dolphins field backups disguised as starters.”

The Herald’s source says Ross canceled a trade GM Jeff Ireland had arranged for Kyle Orton this summer because he felt that Orton is not a franchise QB and that the team shouldn’t pay him like one when he isn’t one.

The report says “Ross is so focused on getting his team a franchise quarterback that he has told friends, much as losses pain him in the short-term, he’s aware they offer long-term gain because they put Miami in better position to pick Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in the next draft.”

It’s pretty apparent that not only will the team likely have a new quarterback next season, but also a new head coach and GM. Ross reportedly wants a big-name head coach such as Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, or Jeff Fisher, or he wants to hire another all-knowing football czar who will pick the GM and coach. This meshes with the report last week that said the Dolphins had contacted Cowher.

While I don’t think the Dolphins need a proven head coach in order to win (see Sean Payton, Mike McCarthy), having a franchise quarterback is necessary. It looks like Ross understands that, and that he is supportive of the team’s “Suck for Luck” campaign. Give him credit for knowing what the team has and what it needs. This also marks the second front office that seems to want to suck for Luck.