Six years ago, when the Miami Dolphins shouldn’t have tanked, they foolishly and unsuccessfully decided to tank before the season even began.

Today, when they are 2-7 and might as well tank, they foolishly and incomprehensively receive an edict on how they need to win to save jobs from team owner Steve Ross. Or, if not exactly win, they need compete. Challenge. Try really, really hard? It’s not really clear.

Let’s fold that demand into recent events: The Dolphins fired general manager Chris Grier (finally), traded their best pass rusher in Jaelan Phillips (smartly) and tried to trade most anyone else on the roster but found no takers (talk about deflating).

And so in a week where the priority clearly wasn’t winning, the owner said the priority is winning starting Sunday against Buffalo at Hard Rock Stadium if jobs are to be kept, starting with coach Mike McDaniel’s.

Are we stuck in some bizarro world?

Shouldn’t the coach’s job be lost by now? Or kept, if that’s what Ross really wants? What will eight inconsequential games really mean either way?

Finally, if ever there was a time for an organization that believes in tanking to do so, isn’t this it?

It takes me back to a first interview with former Dolphins coach Joe Philbin at his start in 2012. He told of watching “Seinfeld” at night in bed. George Constanza’s “The Opposite” was one of his favorite episodes. To recap: George realized all his initial decisions were so wrong he should simply do the opposite of them to be right.

Don’t you get it?

Is the truth floating into view now like a long Tua Tagovailoa pass?

All these years I’ve felt trapped in Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day” to the point I post an annual picture of Murray and the groundhog when the season’s officially over (it was toast at 12 days this season as the Dolphins stood 0-3).

But maybe we’ve been trapped in a “Seinfeld” episode all these misfit years, too. Maybe the Dolphins should always do the opposite of their initial plan.

This wouldn’t just help in, say, drafting Tua fifth in 2020 and passing on the sixth pick, Justin Herbert. Or taking Jaylen Waddle with the sixth pick in 2021 and leaving three-time All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell to Detroit with the seventh pick.

Do you need more?

They took safety Jevon Holland with the 36th pick in 2021 and left three-time All-Pro guard Landon Dickerson for Philadelphia at 37th.

Something more recent?

They took defensive tackle Kenneth Grant at 13 this past draft and left leading rookie-of-the-year candidate in tight end Tyler Warren for Indianapolis at 14. Not that the Dolphins needed a tight end.

But let’s return to the original point of tanking/not tanking. Full disclosure: I’m not a tank guy. The Dolphins problem isn’t so much draft order as the previous examples show. It’s not being a smart organization.

This gets back to my original statement when they started that failed 2019 tank job: Smart organizations don’t tank, and if you’re not a smart organization, don’t even try it.

The addendum to that statement is what’s happening now. Midseason. A 2-7 record. The issue isn’t just if the season fails, but how completely it fails. This, folks, is when you tank even if you don’t believe in tanking.

Exhibit A: Miami Heat president/coach Pat Riley knew winter had come by midseason in 2008 when Shaquille O’Neal demanded a trade and Dwyane Wade was hurt for the year. So he tanked. He admitted so afterward. He even ended his final pregame talk by asking his cast of no-name players about the meaning of Forrest Gump, which was his way of saying, like Forrest, he was done running the race (he retired as a coach).

That’s when you tank, how you tank and why you tank. But given a similar plight the Dolphins have some hoo-rah demand of winning. Or if not winning, then fighting. Challenging. Something.

McDaniel stated it clearly on Friday:

“This week the main objective for me was to clearly paint the picture of the way we have to play and regardless of what happens, sustaining that, sustaining the effort, that strain and just being a disciplined football team with how we go after the ball and how we protect it. That’s monumental because this is a team that preys on your failures.”

Buffalo began preying on Dolphins failures starting in the 2018 draft when they recognized Josh Allen was a franchise quarterback. The Dolphins’ front office thought his passes were too inaccurate. The Bills front office charted every pass he made and saw his poor completion percentage as a senior was in part because receivers dropped the most passes among major colleges.

Add Allen to The Opposite game.

Add 2025 to the list of face-planting Dolphins seasons.

At 2-7, it’s time to win to save jobs.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando, get ready. The biggest show in American sports is about to storm into town — and this time it’s not speculation, not rumor, not wishful thinking.

It’s reality.

It’s THISCLOSE to happening!

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made their decision on where they’ll spend the 2027 NFL season during the $2 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium. And despite the team’s cautious approach about releasing the information, the news is already spreading inside the league, on college campuses and within Florida’s political circles.

The Jaguars are coming to Orlando!

As Jaguars radio voice Frank Frangie likes to exclaim after the Jags score a touchdown: “How good is that?!!!”

They haven’t announced it yet because they can’t — not officially. The NFL owners still need to vote on it, a procedural hurdle that seemingly exists only on paper. But make no mistake: this is just a formality and a technicality.

The Jaguars wanted to get the approval process wrapped up at the NFL’s just-completed owners’ meeting, but the league had other priorities. As Jags team president Mark Lamping told me earlier this week: “As far as the league is concerned, I don’t know that they put as much of a priority on this as we would like them to. We wish the time frame (on the decision) would be earlier, but that’s because our fans want to know and the people in Orlando want to know.”

Translation: We know where we’re going, we’re just waiting for the league seal of approval.

And where they’re going is clear — straight down Interstate 95 to I-4.

How do we know? Because both Orlando officials and University of Florida officials have already been notified. One UF source put it to me even more pointedly, and with unmistakable finality:

“The Jaguars won’t be playing here. They’ll be playing in Orlando.”

That’s as definitive as it gets without an NFL logo on the press release.

Yes, the Jags and UF will continue discussing the possibility of perhaps playing an emergency game in Gainesville — a contingency plan in case Camping World Stadium is occupied by another event. But the decision has been made. The landing spot is chosen. And it’s the one that makes the most sense by every conceivable measure.

The most likely factor in the Jags’ decision is stadium availability. The Jaguars have been told that Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — the Swamp — is set to begin its massive $398.5 million renovation in April 2027. While the Jags could conceivably still play at the Swamp in 2027, the exterior of the stadium will likely be in various stages of demolition, construction and chaos during the window when the Jaguars need a temporary NFL-caliber venue.

Even if UF weren’t renovating, sharing a stadium with a big-time college football team is an immediate logistical migraine. Weekend conflicts, locker-room issues, field maintenance battles — the NFL isn’t signing up for that.

Meanwhile, Orlando’s Camping World Stadium will have already finished its own $400 million facelift — a project that will give the venue a modernized, NFL-friendly infrastructure.

Then there’s everything else — and Orlando checks every box in bold marker:

— The biggest TV market the Jaguars have.

— The biggest U.S. media market without an NFL team.

— A tourism, hospitality and transportation machine built for high-volume events.

— Hotels. Restaurants. Nightlife. Airport. Easy access.

— A football stadium that would belong entirely to the Jaguars for an entire year.

If you think the league office doesn’t salivate over planting the NFL flag in Orlando for a season, think again. The owners know the value of testing markets, even temporarily. They know the power of expanding footprint, eyeballs and influence. Orlando, already crowned by Sports Business Journal as America’s Best Sports Business City, is an irresistible market for the league to showcase itself in.

And, if you ask me, this isn’t just a one-year lease. This is an audition. A demonstration that Orlando can seamlessly host NFL operations — team, fans, broadcast, logistics, security, game-day, etc. This is what Las Vegas did with major events long before the Raiders arrived. This is how markets evolve from “major event city” to “major league city.”

And just imagine the 2027 season in Orlando. Seven or eight regular-season NFL games, including games against the Tampa Bay Bucs and Miami Dolphins, lighting up downtown — and maybe even some playoff games. Who knows? By then, Trevor Lawrence might finally be living up to his potential in leading the Jaguars’ Liam Coen-coached offense to greatness.

For one spectacular season, Orlando becomes an NFL town. And don’t underestimate the optics. When the nation tunes in on Sundays, they’ll see NFL football in Orlando — not because of a Pro Bowl sideshow, but because of actual, meaningful, playoff-implicated games.

And the league will take note.

Sports tourism is no sideshow; it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. Orlando understands this. Orange County understands this. It’s why county leaders cleared a $10 million sports-incentive package for the Jaguars earlier this year — because they know hosting the NFL for a season isn’t a novelty.

It’s an economic engine.

It’s hotel nights, restaurant revenue, national exposure and high-value visitors.

It’s a chance to show billionaire owners — the ultimate decision-makers in American sports — that Orlando isn’t just a city of theme parks and conventions.

It’s a sports capital in waiting.

If Vegas can reinvent itself with sports, why can’t Orlando expand its reach the same way? We’ve already proven our ability to host bowls, championships, world-class soccer, major concerts, WrestleMania-level spectacles.

This is how cities get noticed.

This is how cities get taken seriously for future teams.

This is how cities get into the conversation for baseball, neutral-site NFL games, and maybe one day, a permanent NFL franchise.

The league hasn’t voted yet, but the decision has already been made.

The paperwork isn’t stamped yet, but the message is out:

Orlando will be the Jaguars’ home in 2027.

Now it’s just a matter of time before the league makes it official.

We’ve spent months talking about this opportunity. Positioning and fighting for it.

Now the end zone is in sight. The ball is inside the 1.

The Jaguars are coming!

The Jaguars are coming!

Now let’s show the team and the league that they are making the right call.

The Nets’ first win of the season didn’t spark any momentum. Two nights after breaking through in Indianapolis, they were back in the loss column Friday at Barclays Center, falling to the Detroit Pistons 125-107 to slip to 1-8 and 0-5 at home.

Cade Cunningham (34) and Jalen Duren (30) powered the Pistons with a combined 64 points in a 57.6% team shooting effort, while Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 28 points on 8-for-17 from the field in Brooklyn’s latest home loss. Yet amid another frustrating night, one bright spot continued to shine for Brooklyn: Noah Clowney.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify keeping Clowney out of the starting lineup. Coming off a career-best outing on Wednesday, the third-year forward picked up right where he left off, hitting four of his first five shots from deep and scoring 12 points in the opening four minutes. His hot hand fueled a 5-for-6 start from distance for Brooklyn.

The Nets led by as many as 10 early in the first quarter, but nine turnovers in the period prevented them from pulling away. They settled for a two-point edge entering the second. Clowney’s four 3s were the most he’s ever made in a single quarter. He finished with 19 points on 5-for-13 shooting in 30 minutes.

Brooklyn committed just two turnovers in the second quarter, but as Clowney cooled off, so did the Nets. They shot only 40% in the period while Detroit caught fire, shooting 68.4% behind 10 points from Jalen Duren and nine from Cunningham. The Nets were outscored 33-26 in the frame and went into halftime trailing by five.

Cam Thomas’ absence opened the door for rookies Egor Demin and Drake Powell to see extended minutes, with Demin earning the first start of his career. The 19-year-old looked poised and efficient, scoring eight points on two made threes while adding five assists in his first 13 minutes. Powell didn’t find the same rhythm offensively but impressed with his relentless full-court defense on Cunningham.

Both rookies stayed on the floor late, even as the game slipped away. Detroit opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 72-57 lead with 9:05 remaining, as Cunningham poured in 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Brooklyn, meanwhile, shot just 4-for-19 in the period, with half of those makes coming from Porter. Another promising start quickly unraveled, and the Nets entered the fourth quarter down by 20.

The deficit never dipped below 18 points the rest of the way and both teams cleared their benches down the stretch. Brooklyn will get its next chance to regroup Sunday against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

A Japanese home run king officially entered the posting system Friday, opening up a 45-day negotiating window for MLB teams to court him. Munetaka Murakami, a 25-year-old slugger who plays both first and third base, is expected to headline a deep class of Asian talent looking to come to North America this winter.

Could he be a fit for the Mets? Well, yes, but also no. Maybe.

A left-handed power hitter, Murakami set the single-season home run record for a Japanese player in Nippon Professional Baseball when he hit 56 for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2022. It broke Sadaharu Oh’s record of 55, which was set in 1964. Over eight seasons in Japan, Murakami has crushed 246 homers, hitting .270 with a .951 OPS.

In August, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns took a trip to Japan to scout him. However, before you go trying to connect any dots, Stearns is not the only MLB executive that went overseas to see his power in person. Though the power is an obvious draw, a Mets pursuit would probably mean that Pete Alonso’s days in Queens are done.

Alonso is a free agent for the second year in a row after opting out of the final year of his contract last week. While he has been vocal about his desire to return to the team that drafted him out of the University of Florida in 2016, he made a pretty good case for a long-term contract and a big pay day with his 2025 production.

The 30-year-old Alonso hit .272 with an .871 OPS, 38 home runs and a league-leading 41 doubles. The first baseman played in all 162 games for the second year in a row, was named an All-Star for the fourth straight season and for the fifth time in his career, and became the Mets’ all-time home run leader in August when he broke Darryl Strawberry’s record of 252. The Polar Bear stands alone at the top with 264.

This came after two down seasons for Alonso, showing that he’s got plenty left in the tank in his 30s. The 2019 Rookie of the Year faced questions about regression after 2023 and 2024, though he assuaged some of those concerns with a monster postseason last fall. A fan favorite, he values the community like few others who have come through Flushing.

But Stearns has never been Alonso’s biggest fan. Last winter, it was owner Steve Cohen who made the decisive call to bring Alonso back on a bridge deal. Cohen also has a strong relationship with Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras. The super agent also represents Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo and Sean Manaea.

The two players have plenty of differences, but they essentially play the same role as a power bat either high up or toward the middle of the order. Both would offer protection behind Soto, but they both strike out a lot as well. Neither one provides Gold Glove-worthy defense.

The tend to strike out at high rates. Prolific power hitters tend to strike out at high clips, so the line of thinking is generally, you can live with them as long as you get the power production. However, you don’t want too many high-strikeout hitters in one lineup. Alonso cut down on his chase rates in 2024, though they went back up a bit in 2025. Murakami, on the other hand, swings and misses on pitches in the zone and out of it.

Murakami would be a great candidate for the Mets if they lose out on Alonso, but the timing complicates the matter. His negotiation window opens Saturday at 8 a.m. ET, and will expire at 5 p.m. on Dec. 22. That leaves only a short window for the Mets to figure out whether they can retain Alonso as well. It’s also not clear whether or not Murakami would want to play first base full time. If the Mets do sign Murakami, they could move Mark Vientos to first base and use Murakami at third or as a DH, but they might have to trade away either Brett Baty or Ronny Mauricio to ensure that everyone has playing time.

Run prevention and fundamental defense will be priorities for the Mets next season. Murakami might only complicate an already-complicated third base situation.

Still, he’s an enticing player for a team who had a wildly inconsistent offense last season. Plus, we know money isn’t a concern with Cohen, and Murakami won’t come cheap. Signing players through posting requires teams to pay a fee to the Asian teams they transferred from. The fees start at 20% for the first $25 million, 17.5% for the next $25 million and an additional 15% on every dollar above $50 million.

Murakami could receive a nine-figure contract with a posting fee of at least $16.9 million.

Alonso is reportedly seeking a seven-year contract. Last year, he sought a multi-year pact for $150 million. He didn’t get it, and it’s unclear if a team is willing to pay that much for a right-handed first baseman who will be 31 next season.

The answer is complicated. The Mets can make Murakami fit, and they can also make Alonso fit. But it’s unlikely they end up with both.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The question floating around Gainesville right now isn’t whether Lane Kiffin is the best candidate for the University of Florida’s head coaching job.

It’s whether the Gators are actually willing to spend $150 million — fully guaranteed, over 10 years — to hire him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the Gators hiring Lane Kiffin, but — wince! — at what price?

That will likely be the price tag for Kiffin, according to Mike Ginnitti of Spotrac.com, one of the few places on Earth where sports business math is explained without requiring a stiff drink. And like it or not, Kiffin is the name every big-time program is likely circling. Not just Florida, but LSU, perhaps Penn State and maybe even a couple of NFL teams (hello, Miami Dolphins) might want him, too.

Who are you betting on if the Gators and the Dolphins (when they fire Mike McDaniel) get into a bidding war for Kiffin?

I think I’ll take the Gators for one simple reason.

Because no one — NO ONE! — throws money around quite like college football programs hunting for their next savior.

Remember when Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin was asked recently about how to curb these ridiculous coaching buyouts and contracts? His answer: “We could sit here and talk high and mighty about how we’re going to draw the line, and it would probably impact the pool of candidates you have depending how strict you draw that line. We’re going to try to be as smart as we can with our resources and make the best possible decision. But we’re also going to be very competitive.”

Translation: We’re going to keep spending money like a trust-fund kid with Dad’s AmEx platinum card.

Translation of the translation: If Kiffin wants $150 million, we’re probably going to hand him $151 million just to be safe.

And that’s just Lane’s price tag. He’s going to demand elite assistants, analysts, support staffers and probably a small army of quality-control coaches who hold clipboards like sacred artifacts. Add it up, and the total cost of the Lane Train becomes the Lane Plane — a $200 million aviation-grade financial commitment.

Meanwhile, let’s not forget UF just paid Billy Napier $21 million to go away. Before him, Dan Mullen flamed out early. Before him, Jim McElwain. Before him, Will Muschamp. Four consecutive head coaches — none made it longer than four years.

Which leads to the most terrifying math equation in the SEC.

If Florida gives Kiffin a 10-year, $150 million fully guaranteed contract and he flames out like his predecessors, what would it cost to fire him after Year 4?

Answer: $90 million.

Ninety. Million. Dollars.

That’s not a buyout. That’s a ransom note written in gold ink.

And don’t kid yourself, it would somehow be justified with these seven magical words: “You can’t put a price on winning.” As we know all too well after the recent explosion of contract buyouts, universities have shown zero interest in fiscal responsibility. Schools cry poor and beg their boosters when it’s time to pay players, then torch the GDP of a small nation on fired coaches.

And now Florida is staring down the barrel of the next phase of the arms race: the nine-figure coaching contract.

Would Lane Kiffin win big at Florida? Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully. But the bigger question is this:

Are the Gators ready to risk $150 million on a coach in a sport where four years is considered long-term stability?

Don’t kid yourself, if this happens and then Kiffin leaves UF with anything less than championships, the Gators won’t just be rebuilding a roster.

They’ll be rebuilding their entire financial ecosystem.