The Miami Dolphins general manager search is still about a month away from getting into formal interviews. Miami can lay the groundwork for their search now, however — and they’d be wise to take advantage of the head start they’ve given themselves after splitting from former general manager Chris Grier. Anything less then an extensive interview process should be viewed as a failure for Miami’s search. Who should they be kicking the tires on?

Here’s a list of candidates the Dolphins should be inquiring on.

Miami Dolphins general manager hot board

10. Detroit Lions Senior Personnel Executive John Dorsey

Dorsey has collected a strong track record as a front office executive and decision maker during runs as both the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns general manager. His management of the salary cap and the efficiency of his assets were put under the microscope at other stops, but he was a part of the Browns’ turnaround after one of the worst stretches in franchise history and he’s got an outstanding track record as an old-school personnel man.

9. Los Angeles Rams Assistant General Manager John McKay

McKay’s most notable bullet point on his resume thus far is that he’s the son of Falcons executive Rich McKay and the grandson of legendary late coach John McKay. McKay has been with the Rams organization for 10 seasons, this year being his first as the Assistant General Manager. He was recently credited with the Rams’ success story with linebacker Nate Landman — who just inked an extension with the organization.

Skeptics could, however, point out that McKay’s advice could have been very easily aided by the perspective of his father. Landman, of course, came from Atlanta.

Sean McVay says Rams ass't GM John McKay was the person who really identified Nate Landman as a guy the Rams should sign in free agency. McKay is the son of Falcons CEO Rich McKay and the grandson of former USC coach John McKay.

— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) November 24, 2025

8. Pittsburgh Steelers Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl

Weidl was a name of interest last season but the shine may have worn off after Pittsburgh’s splashy, out of character offseason that has seen a 4-1 start fade into a 6-5 record in time for Thanksgiving. Weidl, of course, was not responsible for the splashy decisions, that job was General Manager Omar Khan’s alone. At his core, Weidl is a big-time trench guy who played college football at Villanova while collecting degrees in Communications (Bachelors) and Human Resource Development (Masters).

Weidl is originally from Pittsburgh and collected stops in Baltimore and Philadelphia before landing in his current role in Pittsburgh.

7. Chicago Bears Assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham

Cunningham has interviewed for several general manager vacancies in recent years, including the Titans, Chargers, and Jaguars. He’s not been picked yet, but the glow up in Chicago this season will likely help his case. Cunningham boasts an impressive track record that includes stops in Baltimore under Ozzie Newsome and Philadelphia under Howie Roseman before landing in Chicago.

He, like Weidl, boasts impressive higher education — a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters degree in Education and Human Development. Also like Weidl, Cunningham is a former offensive lineman. He reached the NFL as an undrafted rookie before transitioning into scouting.

6. Dallas Cowboys Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay

The Cowboys just locked in McClay on a new contract extension this past offseason — he’s a long-shot to leave Dallas. He’s garnered interest from teams for years but has declined teams for years in their bid to interview for general manager vacancies.

McClay has been an Arena League head coach, assistant, and personnel executive before getting into NFL scouting. He won the AFL coach of the year in 2006 while also serving as a pro scout for the Cowboys. His first NFL role came in 2001 as the Assistant Director of Pro Scouting with Jacksonville. He’s filled a starring role in Dallas’ front office for the last decade, helping Jerry and Stephen Jones execute football operations and successfully target draft prospects at a better than average rate.

McClay would be higher on this list if there felt like a reasonable chance he’d take the interview.

5. Miami Dolphins Interim General Manager Champ Kelly

Miami’s current man holding the position needs to be considered a viable candidate to hold the title. Some fans will bristle because Kelly isn’t a “changing of the guard” or a part of the “pre-establishment”. But he got to Miami this past offseason and has been with the team for less than a year. Kelly’s positioning is a testament to his abilities — he lacks the career regional scout experience of some of the other names on this list.

Kelly played defensive back at Kentucky and graduated with a Masters in Business Administration. While serving as an indoor arena player from 2003-2006, Kelly worked at IBM as a software engineer. He served as a coach and general manager for that same indoor arena team in 2007 before getting his first opportunity to serve in an NFL role under Mike Shanahan in Denver (2007). Kelly served one year as a college scout before quickly ascending to more leadership positions in the front office, including assistant coordinator or pro and college scouting and assistant director of pro personnel. He left Denver for Chicago and served as the Director of Pro Scouting and Assistant Director of Player Personnel before taking the Assistant General Manager position in Las Vegans in 2022. GM Dave Ziegler was dismissed in 2023 and Kelly served as the interim GM for several months before the Raiders hired Tom Telesco.

Upon arriving in Miami in 2025, Kelly has served as a new set of eyes for the Dolphins’ operation and took the reins when the Dolphins split from Chris Grier in October.

4. San Francisco 49ers Director of Scouting & Football Operations Joshua Williams

You’ll be hard pressed to find many candidates with a more impressive background than Williams. Williams played his college football at Columbia and earned a degree in Psychology in 2010. Shortly after his undergraduate, Williams worked as a business analyst for TD Ameritrade before securing a role as an assistant in the 49ers front office. He’s worked his way up the ladder since, having created valuable connections with names such as Jim Harbaugh, Vic Fangio, Kyle Shanahan, Robert Saleh, Jeff Hafley, and yes — Mike McDaniel. In his current role, Williams plays a hand in both college and pro scouting, player development, and assists in contract negotiations; offering a little bit of everything for a potential vacancy.

3. Philadelphia Eagles Assistant General Manager Alec Halaby

Hearing the #Eagles internal thought process when it came to the selection of Drew Mukuba is really interesting.

Assistant GM Alec Halaby details why Mukuba was a Philadelphia favorite throughout the draft process.

(Also Howie Roseman draft deal cameo)

?: @Eagles on YouTube pic.twitter.com/Genyc9icWu

— The Philly Blitz (@ThePhillyBlitz_) May 3, 2025

This is a favorite for many, thanks in part to Halaby’s proximity to Howie Roseman. Halaby has been in a leadership role since 2012 with the Eagles — ranging from roles such as Special Assistant to the General Manager (2012-2015), Vice President of Football Operations and Strategy, and the Assistant General Manager since 2022.

It’s a sizable time on task alongside Roseman. But does he have the same magic touch? Halaby is a graduate of Harvard who got his start in football with Philadelphia after connecting with Roseman — and working his way up from an intern role from there.

2. Detroit Lions Assistant General Manager Ray Agnew

Agnew feels like the best of most worlds. He’s helped Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell build their roster from scratch as the team’s Assistant General Manager since 2021. Before that, he spend years under Les Snead in the Rams’ front office — he served as the Director of Pro Personnel in Los Angeles from 2017 to 2020.

Agnew’s got a firm sense of life in the NFL as a player, he was a top-10 draft choice by the New England Patriots in 1990 as a defensive lineman and played on the Rams’ Super Bowl team in 1999. Between his time as a player and executive, he serve various other roles for the Rams organization, including seven years as the Director of Player Development & team pastor.

He’s been a part of methodical builds. He’s been a part of aggressive windows. He’s walked in the shoes of a player. He’s been apart of multiple successful organizations, and has seen firsthand the value of the fit of people in an organization — which is what turned Detroit around.

1. Green Bay Packers Vice President of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan

Packers VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan talks about the size increase on the OL with drafting Anthony Belton and signing Aaron Banks?

“Big doesn’t get small.” pic.twitter.com/tApoLFxzyB

— 97.3 The Game (@TheGameMKE) April 26, 2025

This is my top candidate. Jon-Eric Sullivan has been with the Green Bay organization since 2003, when he was a training camp intern. His football education goes even further back than that — his father Jerry was a lifelong college and pro wide receivers coach who spent five decades in the game. He most recently was an offensive assistant in Arizona from 2019 to 2021 before retiring.

Jon-Eric Sullivan played wide receiver in college at both South Carolina and Gardner-Webb before transitioning to life in the “real world”. He was a sales rep before landing his training camp internship.

In the years since, He’s worked his way up from an operations employee to a regional scout and then up to director roles in college scouting and player personnel. He’s served as Green Bay’s Vice President of Player Personnel since 2022 — he’s GM Brian Gutekunst’s ‘right hand man’. Sullivan has taken interviews with the Titans, Raiders, and Jets for their vacancies this past cycle — he will likely be in demand once again.

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Kyle Crabbs