The Dolphins’ general manager search just received a promising update — one that could alter how observers view Miami’s candidate pool
The question everyone’s asking just got a major update.
The Miami Dolphins‘ general manager search is still in the infancy stages. We’re just over two weeks from when this vacancy became officially available this offseason — Miami cut ties with former general manager Chris Grier one day after their Week 9 loss in primetime to the Baltimore Ravens. Grier, who has held the post since 2016, leaves behind a situation in flux and plenty more in the way of questions for what else is going to change in South Florida.
Until Miami is ready to commit to a candidate, there’s going to be plenty of speculation around what kind of candidates the Dolphins are going to attract. The last time the Dolphins went outside their internal front office structure for a hire was more than a decade ago — when they settled on Dennis Hickey after missing out on several candidates they offered the job to first. Hickey lasted one season before the Dolphins put Mike Tannenbaum overtop of him in the front office and then one more year before firing Hickey. What kind of interest will there be on the job this time around? We have our first clue.
Dolphins general manager search gets it’s first promising update
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini teased in her weekly column this week that “seasoned GMs’ view Miami’s front office vacancy as an ‘exceptional’ opportunity. That may be a bit of a surprise to some, given the team’s unknown status of head coach Mike McDaniel and the hefty contract of frustrating starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
But this is where the Dolphins’ offseason strategy in 2025 sets the stage for the job outlook in Miami. The team did not tap into contract restructures and further scale their payroll — avoiding the trap of teams like Cleveland and New Orleans. Those teams relentlessly and annually emptied the chamber on their contract restructures every year, creating less flexible three and five year roadmaps for team building.
Instead, the Dolphins actually rolled the cash budget back and will continue to shed dead cap from the big contracts of the past regime this offseason when they move on from WR Tyreek Hill, who currently carries a $50M+ cap charge in 2026. They don’t have ‘2026 New York Jets’ draft capital, but they have excess draft capital for the first time since 2021. They have an obvious out in Tagovailoa’s contract after the 2026 season and could, in theory, shed him this offseason and take their bad medicine if they felt so inclined. If they don’t manipulate Tagovailoa’s contract in 2026, they could move on in 2027 and find themselves somewhere north of $75M in cap space, depending on how they go about their 2026 offseason with the rest of their personnel decisions in the first year with a new GM.
The vacancy is in 2026, but there’s generally a blank slate available in 2027. Ross has poured money into his organization and proven he’s willing to spare no expense on his franchise. How does that all stack up to other potential vacancies? It’s hard to say so far. But the Dolphins are getting a head start on ensuring their vacancy finds the right candidates. And the first whispers seem to suggest they’ll have some intriguing names to pick from.
Current 2026 NFL vacancies
- Miami Dolphins general manager position
- New York Giants head coach position
- Tennessee Titans head coach position
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