The Miami Dolphins initially saw five names reported on Monday for their interview requests for a vacant general manager post. Then, shortly thereafter, a sixth name was reported — San Francisco 49ers Vice President of Player Personnel Tariq Ahmad. Ahmad was the third member of the 49ers organization to get a request from the Dolphins, which fueled speculation that Miami was simply polling McDaniel’s buddies from San Francisco for the position.

But a firm inspection of Ahmad’s resume indicates he’s abundantly qualified for a general manager position. And, regardless of his relationship and overlap with Mike McDaniel, he should be considered a legitimate option. I believe he’d be a good hire if selected.

Here are five things you need to know about Tariq Ahmad.

5 things Dolphins fans should know about GM candidate: 49ers executive Tariq Ahmad

1. An impressive education in football before San Francisco

They say that variety is the spice of life. Ahmad has a strong case for the most diverse football background of any candidate on this list. He played offensive line for Ithaca College, would go on to be a coaching assistant for the Division III program, then made the leap to Rutgers and worked for seven seasons in Piscataway. He served as a coach and then as the program’s Director of football recruiting operations for his final four years. While working at Rutgers, he completed a master’s degree in education administration.

It was then that he was invited out to San Francisco for three days of camp.

“I attended meetings, watched tape of college players, and wrote evaluations on three players from the upcoming draft class,” said Ahmad. “After my time was up, they offered me a job as a scouting assistant.”

2. An apparent nose for the intangibles

“When you’re in a player personnel position at the NFL, you’re judged on your ‘hit’ rate with prospects; whether you’ve correctly identified the type of player and person they can be at this level…but the other component you’re judged on is, ‘How are you as a professional?’,” Ahmad stated during an interview with his alma mater.

In a separate interview with the 49ers’ social team, Ahmad talked about the intangibles assessment of his role at the NFL Combine.

“One of the big things that we’re always trying to look for is answering the question ‘do they have the 49er wit?’ These are values that we are going to look for that are going to cause us to win a championship or win multiple championships. What it takes to excel as a 49er. We want the person to be genuine in who they are, and I think that gives us a competitive advantage because we know exactly what we are looking for.”

3. Was a part of the 2023 Accelerator Program

The NFL puts on a program every offseason to help further develop candidates who are prospective future general managers — Ahmad got his invite in the December of 2023. The summit includes leadership meetings and mock interviews held by former general managers from across the league. The objective is to prep a candidate for the leadership rigors of a general manager position.

4. A strong endorsement with his organizational skills

Each year, Monday Morning Quarterback & Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer puts out a list of future NFL general manager candidates. This past weekend, he released the 2026 version of the list. Ahmad made the cut with a strong note about his organizational abilities:

“A grinder, and a high-capacity, high-level thinker, his level of organization has those around him thinking he’d be a natural running his own shop.”

— Albert Breer, MMQB & Sports Illustrated

5. A 49ers lifer (So far)

There are ties going all the way back to Jim Harbaugh here. Ahmad has seen the best of time and the worst of times in San Francisco but he’s held a key role in sustaining the 49ers’ recent run of success with his impact on the college scouting ranks. Having helped build the 49ers roster from the lowlights of 12 wins across three seasons in the mid-2010s to 12+ wins in three of the last four seasons, Ahmad has done it the hard way and lived a full life-cycle in the NFL.

Given the 49ers’ roster trends, that experience will serve him well. He’s seen first hand how to shed off big cap commitments, target young players, and develop them for the future. That’s exactly what is in store for the Dolphins — starting this offseason.