Jan. 12, 2026, 2:05 p.m. ET
The Miami Dolphins identified eight candidates to take over as general manager and needed only a few days to decide that Jon-Eric Sullivan was the man for the job.
The former Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel has been tasked with rebuilding a roster with copious amount of dead cap space spending, no clear answer at quarterback, and both an offense and a defense that finished bottom 10 in the NFL in 2025.
Fortunately for Sullivan, he’ll have five top 100 draft picks at his disposal in April. And according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, it was the executive’s passion for scouting and building through the draft that won over the Dolphins’ search committee.
“One story, in particular, encapsulated the whole thing. The young exec was the first Packers scout on Jordan Love and became Love’s biggest advocate as the 2020 draft drew closer. The Dolphins liked that part of it. But as much as the evaluation, they liked Sullivan’s vision and conviction, and the Packers’ resolve, in making a call for the long term, that wouldn’t help in the short term, and could (and did) rankle Aaron Rodgers.”
Love was the Packers’ first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and took over as the team’s starter three years later in 2023. In his three seasons at the reins, Green Bay has reached the postseason every time and Love has 80 touchdown passes with 28 interceptions.
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Before Sullivan begins his reconstruction of the Dolphins in the 2026 NFL Draft, he’ll first help the team decide its new head coach. He then has other work to do, including trimming the roster to clear cap space for 2026 and beyond. But Miami is hopeful he’ll bring the same conviction and success for identifying talent that made him “indispensable” in Green Bay.