Is this really worse then harassing a reporter, a former player sending inappropriate pictures to a reporter, a trainer tripping a player on the sidelines, etc.
I get that this was wrong on Tony but remember this is a business. Ross is trying to do whatever he thinks is best for the team b/c when the team does well, he does. We do realize that he told Tony for now he's safe but he will start talking to some people. He talked to some people (with speculation there was an offer) including Harbaugh and decided Tony was the best for the job. I seriuosly don't get why this is such a big deal. I know if you are doing a search and intend on hiring a new coach that you should probably fire your existing coach. Based on how things shook out, I'm pretty sure Ross' intent was to talk to some candidates, NOT necessarily hire them. I know there was speculation of an $8M offer to Harbaugh but it's speculation and nothing else. If it comes out that he did make that offer to Harbaugh, then it's a little more screwed up that he didn't fire Tony first, but still, he's a businessman and he's hedging his bets. If he believed Tony was the 2nd best option behind Harbaugh, if Harbaugh refuses, he wants to keep Tony.
I think the media and a lot of fans on this board are blowing this whole thing out of proportion. I get why the media is blowing it out of proportion, it's their job to add drama to the fire, but let's think about this in some logical drama "less" sense.