It certainly didn’t take the Miami Dolphins very long to find what they were looking for.
Miami, in just two and a half weeks, went scorched earth on their football operation, identifying a new general manager in Jon-Eric Sullivan, firing and replacing Mike McDaniel as the team’s head coach with Jeff Hafley, parting ways with the former assistant general manager, and introducing the new leadership group to the world. The first (and arguably most important) domino to fall with Sullivan — and during his introductory press conference on Thursday, Sullivan revealed that a single comment from Ross sealed the deal as the Dolphins being a place he wanted to take his shot.
Stephen Ross’ pitch to new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan left no doubt that was the right place to work
Jan 22, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross shake hands with general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan during his introductory press conference at Baptist Health Training Complex. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
(Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
“What I would say to you right from the jump and my communication with Stephen Ross was, like I said, the desire to win. But he made it very clear, I mean, quite frankly, his words to me were, ‘If you don’t get this done, you will never be able to say it was because you didn’t have the resources,’ which tells me everything I need to know. I think we all know that every place is not like that.”
— Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan on his conversations with team owner Stephen Ross
Say what you will about Stephen Ross as an owner. He’s been many things. He’s never been cheap. The Dolphins owner channels the infamous John Hammond character from the original Jurassic Park film — ‘Spare no expense!’. Ross has tried to bring the same approach to the Dolphins, be it through extensive payroll for coaches and players alike, funding the stadium renovations or building the state-of-the-art Baptist Health Training Complex where Miami operates throughout the week. It’s across the parking lot from Hard Rock Stadium and offers some of the best facilities in the league.
Advertisement
Miami may not have the ideal resources at their fingertips from the jump for Sullivan. The team’s salary cap and mature contracts will necessitate some culling of talent first. But at that point, Sullivan will be given the keys to the car. And as he points out, Ross is ready to give him whatever he says he needs to build a winner.
It’s proven easier said than done for Dolphins leadership thus far, nearly two decades into Ross’ tenure as the primary owner of the franchise. Here’s hoping this next move, after some housekeeping, proves to be the master stroke needed to serve an on-field product as impressive as every other part of the Ross catalogue in South Florida.
At the very least, the proof of that portfolio, plus the promise to Sullivan, was enough to seal the deal for one of the most respected personnel men in the league to seize the opportunity and take Miami’s general manager job. Turns out assuring candidates the world is at their fingertips is a pretty damn good assurance to close a hire. Who’d have thunk?
Major roster decisions facing Dolphins’
new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan in 2026
Related: The first interview request for a job on Jeff Hafley’s Dolphins coaching staff has emerged
window.addEventListener(‘message’, function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll && event.data.totalpoll.action === ‘resizeHeight’) {document.querySelector(‘#totalpoll-iframe-426’).height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector(‘#totalpoll-iframe-426’).contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: ‘requestHeight’}}, ‘*’);
Advertisement
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.