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Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is trying to jam the toothpaste back in the tube, and if it doesn’t go back in in three years, he’s going to switch brands.

Yesterday, Ross revealed one of the reasons he’s running a franchise that has been a bit of a mess on the field, telling a crowd at the Palm Beach Civic Association: “After three years, if we haven’t made the playoffs, we’re looking for a new coach. That’s just the way it is. The fans want it.”

And because the Palm Beach Post publishing comments which made him appear to be a reactionary billionaire who won’t give his new head coach a chance to learn on the job, he quickly tried to walk it back.

According to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, “associates” of Ross said he was speaking in broad NFL terms, not specific to the coach he just hired.

Of course, that’s an easy justification when you realize you said something short-sighted about the guy you just handed a five-year contract to.

And the fact he referred to Gase as a Bill Belichick type coach — when Belichick himself didn’t meet the three-year criteria — underscores the fact that Ross might not necessarily grasp that idea.

“It’s a lot easier to succeed in business than it is to create a winning football team,” Ross said during his initial remarks. “I’m going to get it right yet.”

And if he doesn’t, he’ll have associates explain what he really meant later in the day.