Search for GM

The Miami Dolphins' prep work for their ongoing general manager search appeared to pay dividends during the opening salvo of interview requests. Miami was busy on Monday, submitting a grand total of six requests to external candidates across the league for its marquee opening. With just one other team in the market for a general manager, the Dolphins appear to be well-positioned to land one of their preferred candidates.
Reporting on this vacancy has, for weeks, focused in part on the front office structure the Dolphins are expected to adopt. It's expected to look a little different from what it has, and as a result, the general manager position will have a more hyper-focused role. As NFL Network's Cam Wolfe said on Sunday:

"(The Dolphins) are looking for a GM that has a strong scouting background, and can collaborate well."

Dolphins searching for a specific skill set at general manager
The reason for Miami's narrowed focus? The league's scope has expanded, and as a result, teams are increasingly splitting duties among multiple executives.

As Monday Morning Quarterback's Albert Breer has been pointing out for months, Brandon Shore of the Dolphins' front office appears to be part of a solution to mirror front office structures like what we've seen in Los Angeles with the Rams and Detroit with the Lions — where an executive is responsible for the contracts, salary cap management, and more. Breer reported over the weekend that Shore is taking on an "elevated role" to mirror such roles in Detroit and Los Angeles.

It makes collaboration essential, which is presumably why collaboration is on the shortlist of items pointed out as necessary for this vacancy by Wolfe.

It also makes the quality of the scout running the football operation vital. If you're a general manager specializing in the talent acquisition and scouting areas of the traditional role, then your ability to do so will define your tenure — there are fewer chances to make up for shortcomings with value elsewhere.

Miami's series of interview requests on Monday offers the team half a dozen talented executives, each with an impressive background. But in light of the job description and anticipated front office structure, there appears to be a resume that stands out.

One league source that A to Z Sports spoke with on Monday indicated that they consider Green Bay Packers Vice President of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan to be "the lead dog in Miami."
Sullivan, who has spent more than 20 years in Green Bay with the Packers' organization, is considered Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst's right-hand man and has held his current leadership role since 2022. The Packers have one of the most impressive scouting trees across the league tracing back to the influence of Hall of Famer Ron Wolf in the 1990s — Sullivan was influenced by many of those names and does come with a sterling reputation.

The Dolphins' interview process is only just beginning, and plenty can change as Miami invests time to sit down and parse through their candidate pool. But, upon the start of the process, Sullivan's impressive resume seems hard to ignore as particularly qualified.

Miami Dolphins requested interviews for general manager vacancy on Monday

• Philadelphia Eagles' Alec Halaby
• Green Bay Packers' Jon-Eric Sullivan
• Los Angeles Rams' John McKay
• San Francisco's Tariq Ahmad
• San Francisco's Josh Williams
• San Francisco's RJ Gillen

 

The Dolphins have added another name to their list of General Manager candidates.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that they have requested an interview with Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander.

Alexander joined the Chargers after they hired head coach John Harbaugh and General Manager Joe Hortiz ahead of the 2024 season. He was previously the Jets’ director of player personnel and spent his first two decades in the NFL in the Ravens’ organization.