For the first time, Miami Dolphins fans got to hear their new general manager speak about the state of the team. They knew the resume he brought from Green bay was impressive but wanted to hear firsthand his thoughts on how the organization will look long term.
For Jon-Eric Sullivan, the Dolphins are just another stop in an illustrious general managing career. In 22 years with the Packers, he helped them win a Super Bowl, make six trips to the NFC Championship Game, and helped them to sixteen postseason berths.
Now that he has work to do with the Dolphins, it was clear in his first interview that he wanted to outline a clearer vision of moving forward while also relying on key players to help rebuild the character of the team.
“Mental toughness, physical toughness, you start there from a character standpoint and a burning desire to want to be the best that you can be and win,” Sullivan said. “That’s what we’re all here to do. At the end of the day, if you broke it down to one word, we’re here to win”.
Establishing a Culture Built to Last
In order for the Dolphins to start seeing success on the field, Sullivan preaches a foundation built from the inside out-focusing on every single aspect of growing together both on and off the field. It allows them the flexibility to adapt to various situations no matter what and still be able to have a team first mentality.
Secondly is the character building. The Dolphins at the end of the day want to rely upon certain leaders who are invested in the franchise and have desires about its success.
“We’re going to draft and develop and retain our own,” Sullivan said concerning his idea of team building . “It’s important to us that we raise our own because that’s culture, right? We don’t want a team full of mercenaries. That creates problems on multiple levels… But then within that, it’s who you infuse into that locker room. We want people who love football, who want to be the best that they can be, who are selfless, who are good teammates.”
Identifying the Core of Miami’s Future
He also understands that key pillars such as Jordyn Brooks can become the players that can lead this team back to sustained success. He also can rely on a rookie class that logged over 4,000 snaps to grow into players the organization can think of building around.
Most impressively, Sullivan already diagnosed the five players he believed would be the key building blocks going forward: De’Von Achane, Aaron Brewer, Jordyn Brooks, Patrick Paul, and Jaylen Waddle. By understanding who he views to be the guys he is willing to invest in, Sullivan set the standard that every Miami Dolphin from here on out will have to live by.
With a lot of uncertainty surrounding key areas of the team, including the QB situation, and finding a new head coach, Dolphins fans have to feel good about the stability that Jon-Eric Sullivan wants to bring to the franchise.
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