MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins had months to mull their options for a new general manager after firing longtime GM Chris Grier in October.
Once that process began in earnest following the end of the regular season, owner Stephen Ross quickly became convinced that Jon-Eric Sullivan was the right choice.
Ten minutes into their first virtual interview, Ross was sold on Sullivan's vision for turning the Dolphins into a contender.
“I know many
of you are all frustrated over the last few years with the performance of the team," Ross said Thursday as the Dolphins introduced Sullivan alongside new head coach Jeff Hafley.
“But I’ve got to tell you, I am equally frustrated. When I first bought the team, I said certain things that I would do that were important to me. One was establishing a winning football team that played for Super Bowls on a continual basis.”
That hasn't happened since Ross became majority owner in 2009. Miami hasn't won a playoff game in 25 years — the longest such current drought in the NFL — and just finished its second straight losing season, while missing the playoffs both times.
Ross has already made it clear to Sullivan how desperately he wants that to change.
“His words to me were, ‘If you don’t get this done, you will never be able to say you didn’t have the resources,’” Sullivan said, "which tells me everything I need to know."
Sullivan spent more than two decades with the Green Bay Packers before being hired as Miami’s new GM earlier this month. He was a trusted talent evaluator during his time in Green Bay, where he began in 2003 as a scouting intern before working his way up to director of college scouting, co-director of player personnel and most recently vice president of player personnel.
"I will not stand up here and make a whole lot of promises today," Sullivan said in front of a crowd that included his family, several Dolphins players and Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Troy Aikman.
"But the one thing I will tell you, and I think it’s vitally important for everybody to know, especially the players that are here: Every decision that falls within my line of responsibility will be what’s best for the Miami Dolphins, unequivocally.”
Sullivan will have a lot of decisions to make as the Dolphins embark on their second rebuild since 2019. He already handled his first major one, hiring the former Packers defensive coordinator Hafley as Miami's new head coach.
Hafley spent two seasons leading the Packers' defense. Before that, he was the head coach at Boston College, where he went 22-26 in four seasons. He's the fifth straight head coach Ross has hired with no prior NFL head coaching experience.
“I do believe I’m ready,” Hafley said. “Now, are there going to be things that I learn as we go through this as a first-time NFL head coach? Yeah. That’s life. But what I’m going to do is I’m going to make sure I surround myself with great people and do everything I can that if I do make those mistakes, that I won’t make it again. But I feel more than ready and more than ready to do it here."
Sullivan will also need to figure out what to do at quarterback after 2020 first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa was benched for rookie Quinn Ewers for the final three games of the season.
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.4 million extension in July 2024, but has since shown a decline in accuracy and mobility. He has a history of injuries and concussions, but said after he was benched that he didn't feel injuries contributed to his struggles. Tagovailoa finished 2025 with 15 interceptions, second most in the NFL and a career high.
He is guaranteed $54 million for 2026, and the Dolphins would incur significant hits to the salary cap by releasing him. Cutting him next year would result in a $99 million dead cap charge. If the move is designated as a post-June 1 release, those charges are split over two years, with $67.4 million allocated to the 2026 cap and $31.8 million in 2027.
“Obviously that’s a huge question looming over the organization,” Sullivan said. “I’d be naive to think that everybody doesn’t understand that. I have a lot of respect for Tua. He’s a good football player. He has accomplished a lot in his league. Whether it’s Tua or anybody else, it’s unfair and irresponsible for me to sit up here and talk about anything specific before I’ve talked to the player himself.”
Asked how he'd approach the quarterback situation, Sullivan added, “We have to figure that out. We will. Today is not the day I can give you that answer.”
If the Dolphins decide to move on from Tagovailoa, Sullivan indicated he doesn't want to bring in a new quarterback without addressing other roster holes.
“We’re not going to do it in an irresponsible manner where we sacrifice building the infrastructure of this football team,” Sullivan said, “so that when we do find our guy, he can go be successful.”
The Dolphins entered the offseason about $23 million over the salary cap, according to OvertheCap, and Sullivan said it will take time to overcome their current cap restraints to rebuild the roster.
During the process, he'll use the same philosophy that he said allowed the Packers to build sustained success over the years.
“We will draft, develop, and retain our own,” Sullivan said. “There are things that come with that. Number one is culture. When you raise your own, people are invested. They’re bought in.”
Hafley, who improved Green Bay’s defense from 17th in the league in 2023 to fifth overall in his first season in 2024, said he will call defensive plays for the Dolphins.
Offensively, Hafley said he intends to evaluate the Dolphins' personnel before installing a philosophy. Miami's roster does include several offensive players to build around, including running back De'Von Achane, center Aaron Brewer and left tackle Patrick Paul.
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