The Miami Dolphins are turning the page-again. After parting ways with longtime general manager Chris Grier back in October, team owner Stephen Ross didn’t waste time once the regular season wrapped.
His new hire? Jon-Eric Sullivan, a seasoned front-office mind with over two decades of experience in Green Bay.
And if Ross had any doubts, they were erased just ten minutes into their first virtual interview.
Ross, speaking during Thursday’s introductory press conference for both Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley, didn’t sugarcoat the frustration that’s been building-not just among fans, but within the organization itself.
“I know many of you are all frustrated over the last few years with the performance of the team,” Ross said. “But I’ve got to tell you, I am equally frustrated.”
It’s a sentiment that’s easy to understand. Since Ross took over as majority owner in 2009, the Dolphins haven’t sniffed sustained success.
In fact, they haven’t won a playoff game in 25 years-the longest active drought in the NFL. Back-to-back losing seasons and another year without postseason football only added to the sting.
Ross made his expectations clear to Sullivan from the jump.
“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 shared. “Which tells me everything I need to know.”
Sullivan’s résumé is built on consistency and development. He joined the Packers in 2003 as a scouting intern and steadily climbed the ladder-director of college scouting, co-director of player personnel, and most recently, vice president of player personnel.
He’s been in the war rooms, on the road, and in the conversations that shape rosters. Now, he takes on the challenge of leading a Dolphins franchise that’s once again in rebuild mode.
“I will not stand up here and make a whole lot of promises today,” Sullivan said, addressing a crowd that included Dolphins players and NFL legends Dan Marino and Troy Aikman. “But the one thing I will tell you… every decision that falls within my line of responsibility will be what’s best for the Miami Dolphins, unequivocally.”
One of Sullivan’s first major decisions was hiring Jeff Hafley as head coach. Hafley, who spent the last two seasons coordinating Green Bay’s defense, brings a mix of NFL and college experience.
He previously served as the head coach at Boston College, where he went 22-26 over four seasons. While Hafley becomes the fifth straight Dolphins head coach hired without prior NFL head coaching experience, he says he’s ready for the challenge.
“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,” Hafley said. “But I feel more than ready and more than ready to do it here.”
Of course, no rebuild-or retool-can truly begin without addressing the quarterback question. And in Miami, it’s a big one.
Tua Tagovailoa, the 2020 first-round pick, was benched for rookie Quinn Ewers in the final three games of the season. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a player who signed a four-year, $212.4 million extension just last July.
But Tagovailoa’s 2025 season was rocky-his accuracy and mobility dipped, and he threw 15 interceptions, the second-most in the league and a career high. While he denied that injuries played a role, his history of concussions and physical setbacks remains a concern.
Financially, the Dolphins are in a bind. Tagovailoa is guaranteed $54 million in 2026, and releasing him would trigger massive dead cap hits-$99 million unless designated as a post-June 1 cut, in which case the damage is spread over two seasons ($67.4 million in 2026, $31.8 million in 2027).
Sullivan isn’t rushing into anything.
“Obviously that’s a huge question looming over the organization,” he acknowledged. “I have a lot of respect for Tua.
He’s a good football player. He has accomplished a lot in this 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.”
Pressed further on the quarterback situation, Sullivan made it clear he’s playing the long game.
“We have to figure that out. We will,” he said. “We’re not going to do it in an irresponsible manner where we sacrifice building the infrastructure of this football team, so that when we do find our guy, he can go be successful.”
That infrastructure is going to be tested early. The Dolphins head into the offseason roughly $23 million over the salary cap, according to OvertheCap. Sullivan knows it won’t be a quick fix, but he’s leaning on the same team-building philosophy that helped Green Bay stay competitive for years.
“We will draft, develop, and retain our own,” he said. “There are things that come with that.
Number one is culture. When you raise your own, people are invested.
They’re bought in.”
On the coaching side, Hafley plans to take a hands-on approach with the defense-just as he did in Green Bay, where the unit jumped from 17th in the league in 2023 to fifth overall in 2024. Offensively, he’s taking a more measured approach, saying he’ll evaluate the roster before installing a system.
There are pieces to work with. Running back De’Von Achane showed flashes of explosiveness.
Center Aaron Brewer and left tackle Patrick Paul offer stability up front. But the Dolphins still have more questions than answers-and they’re not small ones.
Still, there’s a sense of clarity in the building now. Sullivan and Hafley aren’t promising overnight success, but they’re promising direction. And after years of inconsistency, that might be the first real win for Miami in a long time.