Five Bold Moves Miami's Sports Teams Should Make Right Now

Both glass-half-full and half-empty brands of Miami sports fans can agree on one thing: The Miami sports landscape could use some serious injections of energy and excitement. This is one of the most dynamic cities in America. It's vibrant and proud.

No one could ever mistake Miami for some middle America flyover city, and for good reason — Miami sticks out. You remember visits to Miami. You talk about Miami when you leave. There is a buzz about the city.

For better or worse, the place is consistently one thing: entertaining. Right now, however, the sports teams that scrawl "Miami" across their chests are anything but worth the price of admission. They're the worst thing you can possibly be here — forgettable and mundane.

So here is how to make them better.

Kliff Kingsbury is now a Free Agent. After a decade coaching at the college level, Kingsbury is now a viable, and likely, NFL OC

NFL teams will be getting, analytically, one of the game's best offensive minds

Newest piece by @JuMosq at @OptimumScouting: https://t.co/XlPIK57GH7 pic.twitter.com/kOcHvuTVwg

— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) November 27, 2018

5. The Hurricanes hire Kliff Kingsbury as their offensive coordinator. Kingsbury may have flamed out as head coach at Texas Tech, but in Miami, where there's plenty of speedy talent and he could concentrate only on the offense, he'd be like a kid in a candy shop. Kingsbury recruited and coached Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and Denver quarterback Case Keenum, among others. He's proven to be successful with quarterbacks.

Kingsbury would be a tremendous asset on the ground recruiting, as well. He's a young offensive mind (39 years old) who can relate to kids. He has a proven track record of high-scoring offenses. If it works out, Miami has a head coach in waiting. If it doesn't, there is no real cost.



4. The Marlins sign Manny Machado. Oh, it'll be expensive. It will be worth it, though. Machado was born in Hialeah and had committed to play at FIU before the Orioles took him third overall in the 2010 draft. He's only 26, can play shortstop or third, and would be the perfect building block for a Marlins team looking to do things the right way. Signing Machado might also signal to catcher JT Realmuto the team is serious about contending and there is no reason to force his way out.

Machado loves Miami. He's from Miami. The Marlins have cleaned up their organization and can afford to make one high-priced move in the name of rebuilding. Stanton, Yelich, Ozuna, and others are gone. That's over. It's time to move on and build a worthwhile team now.


3. The Heat changes course and starts young players. It's over. The experiment with a team full of high-priced veteran journeymen is done. There will be no movie made about the try-harder 2018 Miami Heat. Not even an ESPN 30 for 30. They'll only be remembered for wasting time. Time and money that could have been spent figuring out where the Heat franchise is going.

That's why it's beyond time for the Heat to start Bam Adebayo, Justise Winslow, Rodney McGruder, and Josh Richardson. All need to play more than 30 minutes a game, even if it means Dwyane Wade plays less. Even if it means Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside get so angry they leave the team.

The fans can handle it. They want to see what these kids have got. Not to mention the team would actually be a lot more fun to watch.


2. The Dolphins fire everyone. All of them. Literally everyone. Fired. Stephen Ross makes a statement that the franchise will not continue to accept mediocrity, and he's starting over. At quarterback. At head coach. At general manager. At whatever-the-hell Mike Tannenbaum is calling himself these days.

Start over from scratch. Dolphins fans would be much more interested in a total rebuild than another season in which everyone is wondering whether Tannehill is the man and if the coach and GM will stay.

Enough is enough. Adam Gase has the same record Joe Philbin did at this point. No excuses are valid when you're approaching 50 games coached. Start over, Ross.


1. After his last game, Dwyane Wade becomes a minority shareowner of the Miami Heat. If there is one thing that fires up Heat fans' emotions, it's Dwyane Wade. Anything from Wade returning to the Heat after a season-and-a-half hiatus to Wade tube socks can excite Heat fans. With Wade a mere couple of dozen games from the end of his career, what better way to keep him involved, and Heat fans enthused, than to allow him to buy a share of the team at a hefty discount?

Wade joining Arison as part of Heat ownership would be more than a short-term play. It could be a long-term chess move for the franchise. If the day comes that Arison wants to sell the team, Wade's ownership presence could attract LeBron James — who has openly said he expects to be a majority owner of a team after his playing days — to buy some shares.

That's exciting. And it would at the very least be something to talk about while the product on the court is improving.