Coaches rarely tank. Owners tank all the time, they just can't admit to doing it. Players give up on seasons and give up on coaches, it happens every year. It happened with the Dolphins at the end of this past year. The Raiders are doing it now. Gruden has a 10 year contract, he's tanking hard to get good draft picks and totally rebuild. He may tank next year as well. He knows he gets a new lease on life once he gets to Las Vegas, so the lame duck year(s) are the perfect time to tank so he can build a consistent winner. That's why he traded Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. He is tanking. But most coaches get fired if they tank, so they rarely do it. Guys like Bowles in New York. The owners wanted to tank, Bowles didn't. Rarely do coaches have the confidence in their position like Jimmy Johnson did when he tanked with the Cowboys his first year with his buddy who threw out Tom Landry and installed Johnson as coach, or Gruden does with the Raiders and an insane 10 year contract and two lame duck years in Oakland.
I think Ross is listening to someone on the outside. Those voices are probably telling him its time to blow it up, tank, and get a new QB next season. If that is true, he will subtly tell his next coach that he is not concerned with the first year's record, because he wants to lay the foundations for a consistently winning team. Owner's say things like that when they want to tank, and listening to Ross's presser with Grier, I kinda got the feeling that was the sort of thing he was suggesting. Who knows, maybe he's not tanking, but I kinda think Ross is.
