Jon-Eric Sullivan just weighed in on perhaps the most unique challenge of building the Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins’ general manager seems to believe that character evaluations are essential in more ways than one.
The Miami Dolphins‘ first week of training camp is officially in the books. The team is on break today, which will give Dolphins fans a great chance to catch up on some of the media that’s been put out from the several days.
One such new piece of media that’s emerged is quite the treat. It’s a one-on-one sitdown interview between former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim and the Miami Dolphins’ new GM, Jon-Eric Sullivan. The pair gets into a vast array of subjects, but. one talking point in particular is of interest: Sullivan spoke on the challenges of building a team in South Florida amid failure and success.
Jon-Eric Sullivan dishes on how the Miami Dolphins’ character evaluations are essential in the city of Miami
“You have to be able to play in this league and this league is not for everybody. We know that. The culture piece of it, the intangibles, the work ethic, the toughness, the mental resilience. All those things are incredibly important. How are you a good teammate in the locker room? How do you handle success, how do you handle failure and your ability to get off the mat when things aren’t going well.
All those things I think are are crucial. With this draft class, that was a huge part of what we’re trying to do. And the other piece of it comes back to what you mentioned earlier, where we are. We’re in Miami. If you don’t have the right guy, it could be if things aren’t going well or if you’re having a lot of success, this city can turn you inside out if you let it. So, you got to have the right kind of guys in play.”
<strong>— Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan</strong>
On building a team in Miami
Look. I can’t speak for exactly what happened inside the Miami Dolphins building from 2023 to 2025. But for some players, it certainly felt like success hindered their ability to continue perform at the highest possible level. For others, it felt like getting up off the mat was the problem.
And that’s why the buzz word ‘culture’ is so important. It isn’t just how hard you work or how early you get to the facility. It isn’t how many notes you write. It’s everything. And under Miami’s new regime, it sure sounds like the focus on how players handle failure (and success) is being looked at differently.
Miami is an incredible city. But there is always something to do if you’re looking for it. I seem recall this conversation coming up this past offseason with names like Joe Rose and Channing Crowder, among others in South Florida radio, too. Their opinions were split. But now we know where Miami’s current general manager sits on the subject. He thinks it matters. And I think that’s a good thing.
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