Dolphins Narrow GM Candidates To Four

The Dolphins have reportedly narrowed down their list of candidates to replace fired general manager Chris Grier to four. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander, Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams, and Miami’s interim general manager Champ Kelly are all moving forward to in-person interviews.

The Dolphins started their search requesting interviews for seven external candidates, including Alexander, Sullivan, and Williams. Also out of San Francisco, assistant general manager R.J. Gillen and vice president of player personnel Tariq Ahmad did not advance with their 49ers colleague, Williams, to the next round of the process. Neither did Eagles assistant general manager Alec Halaby or Rams assistant general manager John McKay. It’s unclear if every requested interview occurred, but the Dolphins simply stated that they had “completed the initial round of interviews” and would be moving on with the aforementioned four.

As Pelissero points out, Miami is working efficiently off of their two-month head start after firing Grier back in October, taking only two days to conduct their virtual interviews. Dianna Russini of The Athletic added on that the in-person, second round of interviews will begin tomorrow. The team is making good use of the interview group they put together led by senior vice president of football and business administration Brandon Shore and assisted by Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman, a newly hired consultant, and special advisor Dan Marino.

The Dolphins’ indicated that they are looking for a GM with a scouting background, and that is certainly the case with the crop they’ve landed on. Kelly, who may be the first interview tomorrow, considering his current proximity to the club, started in the NFL as a college scout with the Broncos. After working his way up a bit, Kelly landed in Chicago as director of pro scouting and moved his way up a bit more before landing the assistant general manager job with the Raiders. He got his first interim GM hours in Vegas but eventually found his way to Miami after he wasn’t awarded the full-time job. He’ll hope history doesn’t repeat itself in the coming weeks.

Sullivan started as a scouting intern with the Packers in 2003 and has been with them ever since. Over 22 years in Green Bay, Sullivan moved into a full-time role, spent eight years as a regional scout, two years as director of college scouting, and four years as co-director of player personnel before landing in his current role. His first general manager interest came last year, as he was requested to interview with the Raiders, interviewed with the Jaguars, Jets, and Titans, and made it to the second round of interviews in Jacksonville and Tennessee.

Williams has been in San Francisco for 14 years, starting as an assistant in the scouting department in 2011. After two years of that, he worked three years as a pro personnel scout, five seasons as the team’s southeast area scout, and three years as a national scout before landing in his most recent role this year. Last year was also Williams’ first garnering interest in GM jobs, as he joined Sullivan in both rounds of interviews with the Jaguars. Unlike Sullivan, though, Williams was named a finalist for the position before Jacksonville ultimately hired James Gladstone. Williams was expected to garner lots of interest this year, and so far, he’s been linked to Miami and Atlanta.

Alexander was the latest entry on the list, only joining the candidate pool yesterday, when the team requested his interview. Like Williams and Sullivan, Alexander was also a first-year name that emerged in last offseason’s searches. He interviewed with the Jaguars and Raiders and was invited to participate in a second interview in Vegas. Though things have seemed safe lately for Miami head coach Mike McDaniel, there are thoughts that an Alexander-hire might put McDaniel in danger due to Alexander’s history with the Ravens and the newly jobless John Harbaugh.

With interviews already scheduled over the remainder of the week, expect the Dolphins to continue moving swiftly in their GM search. Unlike with coaches, general managers aren’t as guarded during the playoffs, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald points out that, should Miami want to hire one of the four external candidates, they would need written permission from their respective teams in order to bring them in before they’ve been eliminated from the postseason.