The Miami Dolphins have a new general manager—Jon-Eric Sullivan.
Sullivan spent the last 21 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, working his way up from football operations assistant, to vice president of player personnel. As he takes control of the Dolphins, his work is definitely cut out for him. The Dolphins are in a tricky spot, with limited draft capital, and most of their money sewn up in contracts of players that likely won’t be here for the long haul.
On Sunday, Sullivan sat down with Travis Wingfield for his very first interview as general manager, to discuss the challenges that lay ahead, as well as his vision for the team.
When asked about his football philosophy, Sullivan said “We’re going to draft and develop, and retain our own. It’s important to us that we raise our own, because that’s culture.” Actions speak louder than words, but this is certainly a different mindset to previous general manager Chris Grier, who often elected to let players walk in free agency, and took big swings with trading draft capital.
Sullivan also spoke about the kind of team he wants to build, saying “It starts with the QB, and then we’ll build this team from the inside out. We got to be dominant on the OL, dominant on the DL.” Sullivan also spoke about the fact that the Dolphins technically play in a cold-weather division, and the necessity to build a team to win in those environments.
In terms of the players already on the active roster, Sullivan highlighted a few names that he sees as building blocks for the team. Namely, running back De’Von Achane, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, linebacker Jordyn Brooks, center Aaron Brewer, and tackle Patrick Paul.
Finally, when asked about his draft strategy, Sullivan spoke about his idea of a “best player available” approach, commonly know as “BPA”. “You really have no idea what your needs are going to be. As we build a board, subconsciously, with a team-value approach, you’ll stack it for need, if that makes sense. In free agency, we’ll be much more intentional about where we need to fill gaps.”
The full interview is linked below, and can also be found on the official Miami Dolphins YouTube channel.
What did you think of Sullivan’s first interview? Did he impress you? Let us know down below!
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