I’m Optimistic About The Dolphins’ New Regime

I’m Optimistic About The Dolphins’ New Regime

The Miami Dolphins are about to enter training camp next week, and it’s a chance to see how new HC Jeff Hafley will be as the head man. How will he be with the players? How can he lead the team? What type of energy will he bring? Will his team be disciplined?

For the first time since probably their expansion years, the Dolphins will have a new HC and GM tied together. They hired John Eric Sullivan as their GM and then Hafley as the HC. They both came from the Green Bay Packers. Both have worked their way up the ranks.  

They both have a shared vision and long-term plan which is something this team hasn’t had in a long time, but most importantly they are on the same page on how they want to do things. Both guys believe in developing players through the draft and keeping their homegrown talent. That part is still to be determined, but I like what the team has done. 

Sully first broke up the roster and had to fix their salary cap, which is why the Dolphins are taking on $180 million in dead salary cap space. It’s short-term pain for the long-term gain, as they say. The Dolphins didn’t do much this offseason, aside from signing quarterback Malik Willis. Sully was very disciplined with what his plan was this offseason.

He also placed emphasis on draft players, with the team holding 13 picks in this year’s draft as part of his rebuilding plan. I don’t care what the team says; it’s rebuilding. The Dolphins had to get younger.  

Sully and Hafley also share the same vision of building this team from the inside out. There was no better example of this when they took offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor with their top pick in this year’s draft and are going to start him out at left guard while moving second year lineman Jonah Savaiinaea back to his natural position at right guard so that could become the player the team hopes that he can be. The Dolphins invested in the defensive line last year, and time will tell how they will fit in. 

The biggest thing I liked was that Sully identified 4 players he considered core when he took the job: Patrick Paul, De’Von Achane, Aaron Brewer, and Jordyn Brooks. He talked about wanting them to be part of the team’s plans in the future. Well, after the draft, Sully stuck to his word and gave Achane, Brewer, and Brooks new contracts, as all three were entering the final years of their contracts. This was very refreshing because for years former GM Chris Grier would drag his feet on contract extensions, and it would bite him in the ass.

What makes this even more refreshing is that Sully isn’t coming here and getting rid of everyone. He realizes that this team does have some players worth keeping.

A lot of times, you will see a new GM come in with a situation, like the Dolphins, and try to get the most value in a trade for a player they inherited, but Sully hasn’t totally done it. Yes, he did trade wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, but Sully got an offer that he couldn’t refuse for Waddle in 1st and 3rd round picks for a player at a non-premium position. 

I’m sure Sully listened to offers for Achane and Brooks specifically but probably didn’t get anything he felt was an offer that he couldn’t refuse. Sully also could have let things play out and see how things go during the season and potentially gotten a good deal before the trade deadline, but instead he wanted to keep these guys as building blocks for this team’s future. Paul is eligible for a contract extension next year, and if he continues to grow as a player, I’m sure he will be next. 

Ever since Don Shula retired after the 1995 season, the Dolphins have gone through many regime changes and a lack of vision for long-term success. They have had flashes, but it was smoke in mirrors. Grier was running the team from 2019 until he was fired last year.

He did do some good things in trying to build through the draft, and he also put together one of the most talented and deepest rosters this team has had in a long time in 2023, but that team collapsed to end that season after going into the last month with a 3-game lead in the AFC East and a shot at the number 1 seed. Things continued to go downhill after that season. You can point your finger anywhere with Grier.

First, he and then-coach Brian Flores weren’t on the same page, leading to Flores’s firing. After Flores was fired in 2021, Grier went all in and traded premium picks for players like Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, and others, also giving those players new contracts.

The problem was that despite making the playoffs in 2022 & 2023, the Dolphins had no playoff wins or division titles to show for it. Then the Dolphins lost some of their good young players in free agency, like Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt, and others, because Grier didn’t prioritize his homegrown talent and, because of that, lost those players in free agency and didn’t draft good players to replace them.

Grier also had questionable draft picks and got the team in the salary cap hell they are in now. Grier would throw big money at free agents who were average players at best rather than keeping his core players together. 

Mike Tannenbaum had a 3-year plan that was totally flawed and resulted in average football from 2015-2018. 

Joe Philbin was clueless as a HC regardless of who the GM was. 

Bill Parcells was about winning now and after a remarkable turnaround from 1-15 to 11-5 and an AFC East title in 2008, the Dolphins couldn’t build off that success. 

I know I’m torturing fans with these memories.  

Now the Dolphins have a GM and HC tied together with the same vision for long-term success. I’m optimistic about this team moving forward. Sully comes from the Packers, who build their teams through the draft and were selective in their free agent signings. At the end of the day, it’s about wins and losses as well as acquiring good, talented players.

I really believe the Dolphins are off to a good start with Sully and Hafley. I know it’s only been 6 months since they took the job, but I like the plan they have, and I love their mentality.

This is something I haven’t been able to say in a long time as a Dolphins fan because they have had too many regime changes and guys not on the same page. 

Sully and Hafley are tied to the hip, and I feel good about the future of this team for the first time in a long time. Now let’s hope they can turn this thing around because they have nowhere to go but up.