By JEFF DARLINGTON
FOXSportsFlorida.com Dolphins Contributor
Nearly 30 minutes after Sunday's strange and inexcusable fourth-quarter meltdown to the Lions, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross finally descended in the elevator that would take him from the stadium's suite level to its exit.
He wore a scowl similar to those on the faces of thousands of fans all around him. Unlike those fans, he had no desire to express his frustrations as loudly or openly.
"Don't ask me now," Ross said as a FOXSports.com reporter approached. "I know what you want to ask me. Don't ask me now."
Ross refused to address the obvious question about where coach Tony Sparano and general manager Jeff Ireland currently stand, but he was nonetheless willing to quantify his current state of disappointment in the wake of a 17-point swing that left the Dolphins with their seventh home loss of the season.
"Tremendous, like any fan," Ross said. "I feel as frustrated as any fan."
Only once in the organization's history has Miami finished a season with seven losses at home -- which explains why Ross said he was "starting to evaluate now" the futures of Sparano and Ireland. That's as far as he would go in terms of such an assessment.
"You've seen what's going on, you know?" Ross said.
What's going on was difficult to explain, how a season-best first half could deteriorate into a terrible fourth quarter. As quarterback Chad Henne threw his second pick in five minutes, this one returned for a touchdown, booing and negative chanting ensued.
It's one thing to lose a game that's meaningless to failed playoff aspirations. It was another to lose like this.
Henne, who Ross once said could become the best quarterback in the history of the franchise (yes, he was aware Dan Marino played in Miami), actually started the game well.
Henne was 15 of 21 for 145 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Several times during the game, the quarterback and his teammates seemed in sync before the fourth-quarter collapse. After three quarters, Henne's passer rating was 106.9. During the fourth quarter, it was an abysmal 26.0.
That's perhaps what has become more frustrating than anything for the Dolphins: They continue to befuddle with the number of ways they can lose. In this one, a lagging effort from the offense and the defense was amazingly lazy near the game's end.
"It's embarrassing and totally unacceptable," safety Yeremiah Bell said.
"There's no other way to put it. We didn't finish the game. On defense, we played with no emotion. We just let things happen that haven't happened all year.
"For us to only win one game at home this year is totally unacceptable."
Now, it's time to wait and see whether Ross agrees -- and more importantly whether he believes a coaching change is the only way to fix it.
