The Dolphins were known to be nearing a hire for their general manager position. The process of finding Chris Grier‘s replacement is now complete.
Miami is hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan to fill the GM role, as first reported by Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Sullivan was among the four finalists for the position and loomed as a strong candidate to get the nod. Now, his attention will turn to playing a key role in the Dolphins’ head coaching search.
This move represents the first time Sullivan will hold a position outside of Green Bay. The former Packers intern spent more than two decades with the franchise, working his way through the ranks of both the scouting and personnel departments. Sullivan was promoted to VP of player personnel in 2022, and he regularly found himself on the radar of teams seeking a new GM during recent hiring cycles. Troy Aikman (brought in as a consultant for this search) was Sullivan’s top supporter, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.
Now, 2026 will see Sullivan take charge of an NFL team for the first time. He will become a central figure in Miami’s organizational reset. The team fired head coach Mike McDaniel yesterday in a move which came as a surprise to many. The Dolphins’ intent remained to fill the GM position in short order before focusing on the process of finding McDaniel’s replacement. That search will be one of eight around the league.
Owner Stephen Ross will have the final say on a HC hire, but Sullivan – who interviewed virtually with the Dolphins on Tuesday before taking part in an in-person meeting yesterday – will of course be involved as well. Once a move is finalized on that front, the team’s new group of decision-makers will face a number of important roster questions. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa faces an uncertain future, as does receiver Tyreek Hill.
Having spent his entire career to date in Green Bay, Sullivan has clear ties to a pair of 2026 head coaching candidates: Mike McCarthy and Jeff Hafley. The former spent last season out of coaching while the latter is one of several highly-regarded defensive coordinators set to receive HC interest. The possibility of Miami targeting McCarthy and/or Hafley over the coming days will be worth watching closely.
After Grier’s firing, Champ Kelly was handed interim GM duties. He progressed to the final stage of interviews for the full-time gig, but with an outside hire having been made Kelly may soon depart for a new opportunity elsewhere. Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander and 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams have also become runners-up for the role, so they will turn their attention elsewhere. At this point, the Falcons represent the only other general manager vacancy in the NFL.
Over the course of Grier’s lengthy tenure in Miami’s front office, the team’s drought for playoff wins extended to 25 years and counting. Ending that league-leading mark (along with a two-year run of losing records) will of course be a critical goal for Miami’s new power structure once it is in place. Sullivan is in position to be a leading figure in that regard for years to come.
‘…The former Packers intern spent more than two decades with the franchise, working his way through the ranks of both the scouting and personnel departments…’. But now owners are letting QB’s run their teams with no experience? Good luck with that Vegas, Atlanta, Balt, & Cinncy. Enjoy more losing seasons.
If Old Man Ross really wants to win fans back on the heels of a new GM and getting a new coach, he should announce that the team is going back to it’s old, great logo. The new one he was dumb enough to force on whatever Dolphins fans are left is a symbol of nothing but failure.
Uniforms always look better when the team is winning in them.
The new logo is garbage. It was a ridiculous vanity play that stripped away the last thread to when the team mattered.
Do you know why you like that blurry dolphin wearing a football helmet? Because they won while they wore it.
I can’t remember ever hearing of a man not watching a team win championships because of the logo on a helmet.
The “blurry dolphin” looks better than the corporate one. They played better in it and it looked better.
So it’s your opinion that if they went back to the 1970’s logo tomorrow, Tua would start playing better and their GMs would draft better?
As a neutral observer, both logos are pretty meh to me. Perhaps the biggest mistake was having a dolphin represent a football team in the first place
A real loss for the Packers. If Ross lets Sullivan do his job, he will have a good football team soon.
Even if the team doesn’t improve, Sully can show them where the best Irish pubs are on road trips.
So the hiring of Sullivan and not a Harbaugh friendly GM might have an impact into his decision to come to Miami……seems that Aikman is having an impact into what Ross does as team owner and do we know what Aikman thinks of a Harbaugh hire?
He is a friendly one for Harbaugh. He is best friend with harbaugh agent. The agent’s father was Bob Harlan who was the president of the Packers over 20 years. And he’s Kevin Harlan brother who when he’s not doing national games during preseason he’s a Packers TV announcer.