The winds of change are blowing strong in the AFC East, and few teams are feeling the gust quite like the Miami Dolphins. After years of aggressive roster building and bold moves aimed at dethroning the Buffalo Bills, Miami is now hitting the reset button in a major way. The Dolphins have entered full rebuild mode - and the shakeup is as dramatic as it is telling.
Let’s start at the top. Miami has overhauled both the front office and the coaching staff, moving on from General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel.
In their place: Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley, both with roots in Green Bay. Sullivan, a longtime personnel executive with the Packers, takes over GM duties, while Hafley, who most recently served as Boston College’s head coach, steps into the top sideline role.
It’s a fresh start, no doubt - but one that comes with the kind of heavy lifting that signals a full-scale rebuild.
And the roster? It’s already being dismantled.
The Dolphins are releasing eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill, according to reports. Hill, who turns 32 on March 1 and is recovering from a dislocated knee and torn ACL, will now hit free agency for the first time in his career.
His release clears a significant $22.8 million in cap space - a move that underscores just how serious Miami is about resetting the books and the direction of the franchise.
But Hill isn’t the only headline name on the way out. Reports also indicate that edge rusher Bradley Chubb is being released.
Chubb, like Hill, was acquired in a high-profile trade that cost the Dolphins premium draft capital. These moves represent a clear pivot away from the win-now strategy Miami leaned into over the last few seasons.
For Buffalo, this shift in Miami is hard to ignore. The Bills have had their own offseason turbulence - parting ways with Sean McDermott and entering the head coaching carousel themselves.
But they’ve managed to maintain a degree of continuity by promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to the top job. That internal hire keeps some stability in place, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, where Josh Allen and company have thrived under Brady’s guidance.
Contrast that with Miami, where both the front office and coaching staff are brand new, and the roster is being stripped of cornerstone talent. It’s a stark difference in direction.
From 2020 to 2024, the Bills owned the AFC East, and while the Dolphins were often the team knocking on the door, they never quite broke through. In 2023, they looked like legitimate contenders early in the season - high-flying offense, aggressive defense, and a sense that they might finally unseat Buffalo.
But as the season wore on and the temperatures dropped, so did Miami’s performance. Once again, they failed to win a playoff game.
Now, those high-priced trades and splashy acquisitions haven’t delivered postseason success, and the Dolphins are left with a roster in transition and a future clouded by uncertainty. There’s even chatter that Miami could consider moving on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa either this offseason or next - a decision that would further underscore the franchise’s willingness to start from scratch.
Meanwhile, Buffalo, despite its own coaching change, remains in a much more stable position. The Bills still have their franchise quarterback, a strong core on both sides of the ball, and a coaching staff that knows the system. That continuity matters - especially in a division that’s suddenly wide open beneath them.
Miami’s rebuild is real, and it’s happening fast. For the Dolphins, the challenge now is to prove they can build something sustainable.
For the Bills, it’s about staying the course and capitalizing on the chaos around them. One team is tearing it down.
The other? Still very much in the hunt.