Would the Miami Dolphins make a run at hiring Bill Cowher as their next head coach?

It might not be far-fetched.

If Cowher resigns as Steelers coach in the next several days, as expected, they would own his coaching rights through the end of his contract, which has one more year to run. After that, he would be free to coach elsewhere.

However, if another team wants to hire Cowher for next season -- and if he were willing to do so -- the Steelers would have to grant them permission to do so, thus releasing Cowher from his last year of obligation with them. NFL teams have done that in the past and received ample compensation in return -- draft picks and even cash on top of it.

The Miami situation becomes even more intriguing because the Dolphins' offensive and defensive coordinators worked the same jobs under Cowher with the Steelers -- Mike Mularkey on offense and Dom Capers on defense (although Capers does not hold the official title in Miami).

Plus, Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga has deep pockets and might be willing to make Cowher the highest-paid coach in the league. Nick Saban, who resigned as Dolphins coach yesterday, made a reported $4.5 million annually, which might have put him slightly ahead of what Cowher received from the Steelers last year.

"There's only one thing I want to do, is win," Huizenga said at a news conference yesterday. "I don't care what it takes, what it costs, or what's involved. We're going to make this a winning franchise. It's no fun owning a team if you're not winning, I can tell you that."