Dolphins owner: Former coach Tony Sparano 'damaged the whole organization'

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said former coach Tony Sparano damaged the team. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a radio interview that former coach Tony Sparano "damaged the whole organization" and that he held a grudge when Ross courted Jim Harbaugh in 2011, reports the Miami Herald.

Ross made the comments on 790 Radio in Miami and also said it wasn't fair to blame general manager Jeff Ireland on the team's woes.

Harbaugh ended up being hired by the San Francisco 49ers leading them to a Super Bowl appearance this past season and Sparano was fired in December 2011. Sparano spent the 2012 season as the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets and this season will run the offensive line of the Oakland Raiders.

“He could never put it behind him,” Ross said about Sparano. “I don’t think he was the right head coach for the Miami Dolphins. I didn’t hire him. We’re a much better organization today than then.  This organization is functioning the best since the [ Don] Shula days, [because] I picked the head coach with Jeff Ireland. People see this organization is really on the uptick.”