The Miami Dolphins finish their 2025 season in Week 18 against the New England Patriots. With a win, Miami will move to 8-9 for the second consecutive season. With a loss? Well, let’s hope not.

Either way, the real impact of this season will only begin AFTER Miami’s final game. This year marked a season of change for the Dolphins, and the team is guaranteed to be headed in a new direction thanks to their general manager vacancy.

Interview requests can be sent out as early as Monday. It’s go time. One name recently tied to the vacancy is Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan. Here are five things you need to know about the Packers’ long-time executive as a possible candidate to fill Miami’s top spot.

5 things Dolphins fans should know about GM candidate: Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan

1. It’s a family affair

Jon-Eric Sullivan has an impressive standalone resume in his path to the league. He played college football at South Carolina (1995-1997) and Gardner-Webb (1998-1999) as a wide receiver and has over 20 years of experience in the Packers’ front office.

But his perspective on the game is boosted by his family — his father, Jerry, has 50 years of coaching experience in the NFL and college football. Jerry Sullivan was a wide receivers coach for several NFL teams from 1992 through 2016, including the Miami Dolphins in 2004. Jerry Sullivan retired from coaching in 2021.

Jon-Eric’s father-in-law, Pete Hoener, was also an NFL and college coach with over 45 years of experience as an offensive assistant. He also retired in 2021.

2. A Packers lifer (so far)

After finishing his playing career in college, Jon-Eric Sullivan served as a student assistant in 2000 before leaving football altogether. He gathered “real world” experience with job stints at GMAC Insurance and Balfour, where he helped to sell class rings.

That lasted two+ years before Jon-Eric interned in Green Bay and, the following year, earned a job offer from former NFL general manager John Dorsey to serve in the football operations department. He’s been with Green Bay ever since, becoming indoctrinated by one of the most consistent and stable football operations in recent memory.

3. The greatest scouting tree there ever was?

The front office that Jon-Eric Sullivan was hired into is a who’s who of major players in football front offices. The foundation of the program was built by Pro Football Hall of Fame scout & executive Ron Wolf, who served as general manager in Green Bay for a decade in the 1990s.

The front office in 2003, for Sullivan’s internship, included the following names:

– John Dorsey (then the Director of college scouting, former GM of Chiefs and Browns)
– Reggie McKenzie (then the Director of pro personnel, former Raiders GM)
– John Schneider (then a personnel assistant, current Seahawks GM)
– Brian Gutekunst (then an area scout, current Packers GM)
– Alonzo Highsmith (then an area scout, currently a Personnel Executive with the New England Patriots)

The Packers would go on to hire legendary general manager Ted Thompson in 2005, while Jon-Eric Sullivan was in football operations. Thompson held the post until 2018, when current GM Brian Gutekunst took over.

4. His team-building creed

“I’ve always been taught the draft is your lifeblood, if you will. You build through the draft. It’s a young man’s game,” Jon-Eric Sullivan said. “You want to make sure you’re acquiring young, talented players that fit your culture. I think you supplement through free agency. You look at what Ron (Wolf) did with Reggie White. What Ted (Thompson) did with Charles Woodson.

“I think those are dangerous waters to tread in all the time, because typically teams aren’t moving on from good players that are healthy and good in the locker room. They’re trying to those themselves…I think you always have to be assessing your quarterback situation. Making sure you have a trigger man that you can win with. And I think you have to identify your core players within your team at all levels. Your difference-makers, your starters, your role guys.

“And the guys that are really good within their role and fit your culture, I think you have to do everything within your possibility to retain those players and make sure you’re keeping that together so that you can have sustained success over time.”

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5. Interviewed for every vacancy in the 2025 cycle

In some ways, teams needing a general manager hire in 2026 should feel fortunate that this is a possibility. Sullivan was among the hottest names in 2025 — he interviewed for the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, and Jacksonville Jaguars vacancies last season.

Those jobs went to Mike Borgonzi (Chiefs), Darren Mougey (Broncos), John Spytek (Bucs), and James Gladstone (Rams), respectively.

Is it a concern that he didn’t get any of those positions? Not necessarily. The Titans’ hire was complex due to Chad Brinker’s conflicting role. Raiders minority owner Tom Brady played with Spytek at Michigan. And hey, the Jets are the Jets!

With the current reporting suggesting that the Dolphins are looking primarily for a qualified scout and team builder for the job they’re hoping to fill in Miami, Sullivan feels like a strong fit.

Let the record state that this is my preferred candidate for the position.

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