Bill Cowher and the Miami Dolphins: The Covert Star Search Is On

Bill Cowher and the Miami Dolphins have talked—that is the word on the streets of South Beach and just about everywhere else.

It seems Dolphin owner Stephen Ross is running some sort of covert star search down there in Dade County. You see, he currently has a head coach named Tony Sparano, who is twisting in the winds that blow off the Atlantic Ocean.

Sparano sits in the head coach's office as we speak but Ross has started his own version of Star Search, his own reality show where he's now thinking he needs to dump Sparano if he can just happen to land a new guy with a name and drawing power. You know, someone the Dolphins season ticket holders will be buzzing about, someone who will put butts in the seats and wins in the "W" column.

Ross has already reached out to Bill Cowher, who went from Steeler to television authority. And certainly Cowher would make the kind of Atlantic Ocean splash that Ross covets. But there may already be a stumbling block in the way of any efforts to land The Chin.

Cowher wants absolute power over the football operation. He would want his own general manager and there sits Jeff Ireland in that Dolphin office. So, word has it that the Chin has quietly stepped back and will hold his cards close to his vest.

So, Ross then likely moves to the next name under "C" for celebrity and there's Jon Gruden; sure, call Chucky, he already left one Miami team standing with its thumbs twiddling.

Ross will come to find out after a couple of days with Chucky that Chucky won't come cheap, or even reasonably for that matter. Seems Gruden has his eyes set on some astronomical sum that would qualify him as an NBA star.

Okay, scratch Chucky, at least for now.

So, there's the Miami dilemma—No Chin, No Chucky just poor old Tony.

Ross then will run his finger down the "celebrity coach" list and there's a guy who was just there in Miami and wow did he ever look good on Monday night.

Yeah, that guy, that Jim guy, yeah, Harbaugh.

Now, Ross will be trembling with delight because guess what? Ross is a Michigan Man and so is Jimmy H. Wow, a match made in heaven, Michigan Man owner, Michigan Man coach.

If that doesn't get 'em hopping in Sun Life Stadium, nothing will.

And yes, poor old Tony is till twisting in the wind.

So with Tom Clancy looking over his shoulder, taking notes, Ross is in full swing with his top-secret, double-classified, for your eyes only, James Bond operation to find someone who will make it easy to rip the headphones away from Sparano.

The players wouldn't mind. Ricky Williams is griping about Sparano, so is Brandon Marshall. What a novelty, players complaining about their coach—inmates bemoaning the warden.

No one knows how this spy thriller is going to end up.

There's the Chin, Chucky and the Stanford Superman.

And there's Ross, scratching his head and wondering what to do now.