The two new men put in charge of rebuilding South Florida’s NFL franchise looked like they’re starring in a buddy cop film in their introductory news conference.
Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley probably share the same barber because their closely cropped crew cuts, which left each half an inch of hair length on the top, had them resembling the state trooper who pulled you over for going 20 miles over the speed limit.
And it wasn’t just their look that were in unison.
One would be answering a question during Thursday’s introductory news conference, and the other could be seen nodding in agreement.
It happened multiple times when Sullivan, the Dolphins’ newly appointed general manager, was talking about building a roster through the draft.
Or when Hafley, who was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator before being appointed the Dolphins head coach position, was talking about wanting to build a run-oriented team.
Nod, nod, nod.
They were really vibing when Sullivan announced that the Dolphins planned to draft a quarterback often, at the least every other year.
“I learned about alignment, and that you have to have people’s backs. You have to come together. That’s a huge reason why I’m here with this guy,” Hafley said as he pointed to Sullivan. “He’s a huge part of why I wanted to be here.”
And Hafley seemingly had options.
One franchise [likely the Las Vegas Raiders] wanted him to sneak out of his hotel to chat about their opening while he was in Miami. Another team (likely Tennessee) supposedly had a plane waiting for him at the airport Monday evening before he accepted Miami’s offer.
While I initially thought those claims, and Miami’s fear of losing him before offering the job Monday was bull crap, agent-driven and media hyped, after hearing him speak, and actually feeling Hafley’s presence, I understood why the Dolphins brass felt they couldn’t allow him to leave South Florida without a contract.
Unlike Joe Philbin, Adam Gase, Brian Flores and Mike McDaniel, Hafley had an aura to him, a confident vibe. That’s something the Dolphins haven’t had in a head coach since Dan Campbell, who served as Miami’s interim coach for the majority of the 2015 season.
Nobody knows whether Hafley will be as successful in Miami as Campbell has been in Detroit, but what we can assume is that he and Sullivan will at least begin their tenure together, on the same page, which would be a first during Steve Ross’ tenure as owner.
“Jeff is a friend of mine, but make no mistake, this hire was made on professional respect,” Sullivan said, pointing out he had only known Hafley for the two years they spent together in Green Bay with the Packers.
Sullivan claims he would show up at Green Bay’s facility at 5 a.m. to get his workout in, and Hafley would already be there. From there, the respect and friendship grew.
“His emotional maturity,” Sullivan said. “[His] ability to get through the bad times, keep them on the ship when everyone wants to jump [off], is what stood out to me.”
The Dolphins claim their search committee went through their process without bias, but let’s be real for one moment.
When people comes into power — if that ever happens — they likely aspire to surround ourselves with people they know, and trust.
That’s human nature.
If I’m fighting for my survival, I want to know the person in that foxhole with me has my back.j
I would want a loyal soldier, and that’s the one thing Miami hasn’t had since maybe the Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt years.
Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano started their tenure in Miami together as Bill Parcells’ minions, but part of the reason Parcells left in the middle of the 2010 season was because of a growing wedge in their relationship.
That wedge became a cavern when Ireland accompanied Ross on a flight to California to court Jim Harbaugh as the head coach, despite the fact Sparano was still employed in that role.
Dolphins legend says Ireland and Sparano didn’t talk to each unless absolutely necessary for that entire 2011 seasons, until Sparano, who died in 2018, eventually got whacked by Ross with five games left in the season.
Every other general manager, team czar, head coach relationship had been forced from that point on, and Ross finally smartened up and ignited a rebuild that began with a head coach and general manager beginning the process together, in unison.
There’s no guarantee this approach will work. It certainly didn’t for the New York Giants, where Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, two buddies with ties together from their Miami days, took over that franchise in 2022. Schoen survives, for now, while Daboll was fired in the middle of his fourth season.
But what we do know is that Sullivan and Hafley have the same starting line, and begin the journey of rebuilding the Dolphins franchise together, with nobody haven’t to be caught up.
“This is a tough business, not a complicated business. The things we do day in and day out will get us where we need to go,” Sullivan said. “It’s not an easy road, but it’s well worth it.”
