The Miami Dolphins will retain head coach Tony Sparano, a source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Thursday night. Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh met earlier Thursday with Miami owner Stephen Ross in the San Francisco area about the Dolphins' job, sources told Mortensen. But Harbaugh and the Dolphins broke off talks later in the day, sources told The Associated Press. The Dolphins were willing to make Harbaugh the highest-paid coach in the NFL, which would place his salary in the $7 million-to-$8 million range, sources said. Ross resumed the meeting Thursday night with Harbaugh's agent, David Dunn, in Southern California after the Dolphins owner traveled south to satisfy an unrelated business commitment following his meeting with Harbaugh, the sources said. Ross hoped to persuade Harbaugh to take the job and travel to Miami on his private jet to introduce him as his new coach by Friday or this weekend, the sources added. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5997519
