The Miami Dolphins did not have the season they were hoping for in 2025, and a full-scale organizational rebuild appears to be getting underway. After firing general manager Chris Grier midway through the season, the Dolphins surprisingly fired head coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday morning.
It always seemed like Miami was going to move quickly when it came to its search for a new general manager, and sure enough, that has happened. After conducting a quick search process, the Dolphins are set to hire former Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan, who just so happens to have ties to a former Super Bowl-winning head coach.
Dolphins Hire Jon-Eric Sullivan to be New General Manager
After going 7-10 in 2025, the Dolphins are starting from scratch. Not only are they going to be hiring a new general manager and head coach this season, but they are also likely to move on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after he was benched late in the year for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers.
In order to ensure that this rebuild will be successful, Miami needs to be organizationally sound from top to bottom. That starts with finding a new general manager who is capable of getting the front office on track and bringing in players who can help the team win football games. That is something Grier failed to do in the 2025 campaign, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
With reports indicating that the Dolphins had interest in hiring recently fired Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, it seemed like Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander was the frontrunner to land this gig, given his ties to the Harbaugh family. Instead, Miami hired Sullivan, who has ties to former Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
“The Dolphins are working to hire Jon-Eric Sullivan as their general manager, sources tell me and Ian Rapoport,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported. “Sullivan, who was the Packers’ VP of Player Personnel, is highly respected within the league. Now, he’ll play a key role in Miami’s search for a new head coach.”
Could the Dolphins Hire Mike McCarthy as New Head Coach?
GettyFormer Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
Sullivan has worked with the Packers since 2003, so he is quite familiar with McCarthy, who was the team’s head coach from 2006 to 2018. After an uneven stint with the Cowboys from 2020 to 2024, McCarthy took a year off from football in 2025, but he has quickly generated interest across the league as a potential head coach candidate early this offseason.
With Sullivan hired, the Dolphins will turn their attention to bringing a new head coach to town. Whether or not there is interest in McCarthy yet remains to be seen, but he has quickly emerged as a logical target given his ties to Sullivan. Miami has done well to cross off one of the biggest items on its to-do list, but it’s clear it still has a lot of work to do over the next few months as it embarks on its latest rebuild.
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