Dolphins owner Stephen Ross predictably and with enthusiasm was booed in his own stadium when introduced Sunday to pay pregame homage to retiring Jason Taylor. Recluse general manager Jeff Ireland surely would have been booed, too, had he risen from his rabbit hole for a rare public appearance.

The Marlins’ Jeffrey Loria used to be Miami’s most unpopular sports owner, but now he could give lessons on how to remake one’s image — lessons Ross could use. Loria got what he wanted, finagling a new ballpark from the city and county, and then gave fans what they wanted: Star power in the form of manager Ozzie Guillen, shortstop Jose Reyes and others. Instant credibility, sudden excitement.

Of course both owners mentioned must curtsy to the Heat’s Micky Arison. He is precisely what we desire in a franchise lord: A man who finds the spotlight unnecessary while presenting a sufficient checkbook to cover Pat Riley’s audacious dream of teaming LeBron James and Chris Bosh with Dwyane Wade.

This is Ross’ challenge today. He finds himself not only competing with other NFL teams to win the best coach and best quarterback — but also competing with the Heat and Marlins to win the trust of South Florida, the faith of rightly skeptical Dolfans.

Hunting season has begun, and it will be Ross’ litmus test.

Does he have the gumption and boldness of wallet to do something major rather than end up with the hiring equivalent of a field goal instead of a winning touchdown?

We know by now Ross can ace the window dressing, the celebrity bit-part owners on the “orange carpet,” the in-stadium nightclub. Thing is, makeup only hides so much.

Can Ross succeed as a football owner with the product he puts on the field? This is what the fans want. This is where the doubt lies. This is what we’re about to find out.

Getting the big coach/QB quiniela seemed easy, once. Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden were floating around like real possibilities. At 0-7, grand prize Andrew Luck, the Stanford quarterback, seemed as likely for Miami as for anybody.

Now as a new year rolls out and another playoffs commence with the Dolphins left at the curb to watch the parade, what’s clear is that Ross is going to have to work for what he gets. And by work I mean compete, persuade and spend.

With Cowher and Gruden allegedly committed to the no-pressure comfort of TV booths, they have been lapped by a new “it” guy in Jeff Fisher, the longtime former Tennessee Titans coach. Any team that might be coach-shopping –—Miami, St. Louis, Tampa, Kansas City, maybe San Diego, maybe others — will romance Fisher.

He is thought to be most enamored of the Rams or Chargers for their better QB situations, but that doesn’t mean Fisher (or Cowher or Gruden) is not gettable.

Hope that the Dolphins get one of those rather than settle for the field goal named Brian Billick, or take someone else’s castoff like Brian Schottenheimer, or exhume the career of a fossil like Brian’s daddy, Marty Schottenheimer.

It will take more than money to win who you really want, and it will take a better sales pitch than the one that failed to land Jim Harbaugh before this past season.

Ross must prove to his next coach that this owner is committed to long-term winning, that Ireland is capable — or will be replaced by someone who is — and that the talent to win either is in place or will be aggressively obtained.