Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has reached out to Mangini as a consultant, The Miami Herald's Armando Salguero reports. The two reportedly talk "on a fairly regular basis" about the state of the team in all areas, including coaching.
The interest of AFC East rivals should certainly be piqued by the amount of knowledge Mangini possesses about the inner workings of those organizations.
Regardless, this isn't exactly a great omen for Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano, who is firmly on the hot seat after the team's 0-5 start. Salguero's report repeatedly states that Mangini is not a candidate for the head coaching gig in Miami, though, which is congruent with Ross' past claims that Sparano is the right man for the job.
But one has to wonder what sort of insight Mangini would have on the team that Sparano wouldn't. After all, as the report states, Mangini isn't cognizant of the day-to-day operations of the team, injury status of players, game plans or anything of that nature.
Is Mangini paid for his consultations? Is he giving the Dolphins some dirt on the inner workings of the Patriots and Jets? All speculation, but all valid questions.
Taking into account the nature of those conversations and the unofficial relationship between Ross and Mangini, the whole situation around the Dolphins seems very fishy.
