TAMPA, Fla. — A nightmarish month only got worse Monday for the beleaguered Dolphins.
Their night began with an apology from owner Stephen Ross for the locker-room harassment scandal and ended with a 22-19 loss to the previously winless Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Miami dropped to 4-5 after Tampa Bay somehow made a Bobby Rainey touchdown run early in the fourth quarter hold up, adding an embarrassing bookend for the Dolphins after Ross had broken his silence on the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin controversy by saying he was “appalled” and vowing to make changes.
Ross, a Manhattan-based real estate developer, revealed the formation of a blue-ribbon advisory group that will include ex-Jet Curtis Martin, while saying he plans to meet with Jonathan Martin on Wednesday about the offensive tackle’s allegations he was bullied by Incognito.
“I’d like to apologize to the fans for being in this position, but I know we’ll come out of this a better organization,” Ross said during a hastily called news conference inside Raymond James Stadium before the game.
ESPN quoted sources Monday afternoon as saying Martin wants to play in the NFL again, but doesn’t feel like he can return to the Dolphins because the situation is so toxic, but Ross downplayed that as more anonymous “he-said, she-said.”
“There’s so many things that are being said and everything like that,” Ross said. “I’m not going to deal with speculation. I’m going to meet with Jonathan Martin face-to-face and hear what he has to say. So much has been said about a lot of different things — he-said, she-said.”
Ross said he was blindsided by the controversy that erupted two weeks ago when Martin abruptly walked out on the team citing Incognito’s harassment and the locker-room culture in general.
Ross added he wasn’t the only member of the organization caught off-guard by the situation.
“I never heard of [Martin’s concerns],” Ross said. “The coach [Joe Philbin] didn’t hear it. Nobody heard it.”
Ross, in fact, praised Philbin at length during the press conference, describing the second-year coach in fawning terms, indicating Ross has no plans to fire Philbin unless the attorney assigned by the NFL to investigate the case finds something truly incriminating.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported last week unnamed members of the Dolphins’ coaching staff had ordered Incognito to “toughen up” Martin, but Incognito had taken it too far with the infamous voicemail — which Incognito later said was a joke between friends — in which he called Martin a racial slur and made several vulgar threats.
Although Ross ominously said little about general manager Jeff Ireland, the owner sounded unconcerned Philbin would be tainted by the scandal.
“I have the total, utmost confidence in Joe Philbin,” Ross said.
Ross said the committee he formed would be charged with coming up with a code of conduct for the franchise and advising him on how to change the locker-room culture.
Curtis Martin will be joined on the panel by Dan Marino, ex-Dolphins coach Don Shula, former Colts coach Tony Dungy and retired Dolphins pass rusher Jason Taylor, who also played one season with the Jets.
Martin and Dungy have no connection to the Dolphins, but Ross said they were chosen because of their stellar reputations.
“These are people who have as [garnered] as much respect as anybody that’s ever played or coached the game,” Ross said.
Ross was accompanied by new Dolphins team CEO Tom Garfinkel, who said the club doesn’t want to “rush to judgment,” but promised a swift response if its own investigation merits it.
“There’s been a lot of information pushed out into the public, but we simply don’t know what happened or didn’t happen yet,” Garfinkel said. “When we do, I can assure you we’ll respond accordingly.”