Jon-Eric Sullivan has dished out some historical examples of his QB philosophy in practice — and it should help us set our expectations accordingly
More breadcrumbs to Miami’s upcoming quarterback process have emerged.
The Miami Dolphins pursuit of their “next” quarterback is going to be firmly under the microscope in the months (or years) ahead.
Miami is coming off of a regime that drafted and then doubled down on seventh-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The results were, at times, good. Not good enough, though. And so now, the Dolphins are hitting the reset button on the entire thing. The coach, the general manager, the roster, you name it. That includes quarterback, despite a fully guaranteed commitment to Tagovailoa this upcoming season that is north of $50 million. The new man in charge of the roster, Jon-Eric Sullivan, has recently shared his team-building philosophy at quarterback — and it has fans gassed up about a relentless pursuit of “the guy”. But in a new sit-down interview with NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, Sullivan offered an even bigger clue of what the road ahead looks like.
Jon-Eric Sullivan shares several examples of his quarterback philosophy
“The process will lead us to the right guy. I think you look at people who have come from this process, whether you’re talking about John Dorsey going to Kansas City and signing Alex Smith and then drafting (Patrick) Mahomes, or John Schneider cycling through Charlie Whitehurst and Matt Flynn to finally get to Russell Wilson. And then you look at what he’s done recently with Sam Darnold. Our process will get us there. There’s no roadmap, I don’t have a crystal ball, I can’t tell you how it’s going to happen, but I have a lot of faith and conviction that this process will lead us to the right guy.”
— New Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan on the Dolphins pursuit of a quarterback
The historical examples referenced here are powerful. You’d typically associate this process with the Packers’ successful transitions of Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and then Rodgers to Jordan Love. But the examples Sullivan references in both Kansas City and Seattle yielded varying degrees of success before finding a quarterback that took a team to a championship.
Jon-Eric Sullivan’s QB philosophy in practice
- Green Bay Packers: Trade for Brett Favre, proactively draft Aaron Rodgers, proactively draft Jordan Love
- Kansas City Chiefs: Trade for Alex Smith, proactively trade up and draft Patrick Mahomes
- Seattle Seahawks: Trade for Charlie Whitehurst, sign Matt Flynn, draft Russell Wilson
Smith was a winner in Kansas City — until it came time to pull through in the postseason. The Chiefs were opportunistic in leaping up and traded to get Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft with the 10th overall selection. In Seattle, Matt Flynn is considered the “gold standard” of bad swings on a backup quarterback in free agency. And yet to Sullivan, it marks an important benchmark in the methodical pursuit of a quarterback that’s worth referencing in Seattle’s journey to finding a 10-year starter for the franchise.
That Flynn, contract, by the way, aged better than you may have thought. Despite the poor result, a 2026 inflation adjustment of that deal for Flynn checked in under $18 million dollars per season in 2026 money back in 2012. Considering the going rate for starting quarterbacks on new deals is pushing $50M per season and Sam Darnold signed in Seattle this past offseason for just over $33M, the Flynn contract looks like an economic bet by today’s standard, even if it flopped.
And that’s what Dolphins fans should probably keep in mind. This isn’t necessarily going to be one fell swoop, which is Sullivan’s entire point. The leveling-up at quarterback may come in several incremental installments, starting with whatever swing of the bat they choose to take this offseason. Flynn and Darnold were free agent bets. The Chiefs first acquired Alex Smith via a trade that involved a second-round draft choice. Russell Wilson came to Seattle in third-round via the draft. And Mahomes was a trade & draft choice all in one. Applying that logic to the 2026 Dolphins, it would seem as though anything and everything is on the table. And Sullivan is prepared to take as many swings as it takes — just like his predecessors before him.