Did Patriots Caserio Use Dolphins Ross?

The Miami Dolphins seem to have turned a corner over the weekend and had fans buzzing about a candidate that came almost out of nowhere.  New England Patriots top personnel man Nick Caserio.  Many didn’t or still don’t know what his background is but the fact that he is a top guy in New England made almost everyone’s ears perk up and for a moment had fans believing that maybe, just maybe Dolphins owner Stephen Ross would get it right.  Even if “right” came with a “who is that?” attached.

Now two interviews later the Dolphins appear to have been played by Caserio in an effort to milk a bigger contract out of the Patriots.  It’s not unusual for execs to do that but with a franchise such as the Dolphins every little jab hurts a little worse than previous.  According to reports Caserio had declined an invitation to interview early in the process and then changed his mind.  A Washington Post report said that the Dolphins offered the job to Caserio yesterday.  Today, reports are that he is or has turned it down.

The Dolphins didn’t just interview the Pats guy.  They interviewed Brian Gaine on Saturday for a second time and on Sunday interviewed both Lake Dawson and Dennis Hickey a second time as well.  The team is likely going to make a decision on one of those three early this week.  The chaos that has been the Dolphins GM search will not end well for the Dolphins.  At least not in the public eye initially.  Many fans have lost faith in a team that had come one win away from making the playoffs.

The Dolphins have been spurned by five GM candidates who declined to the interview for the job and have had two pull out or actually decline the job.  On Thursday Ray Farmer opted to stay in Cleveland over Miami with the local news reporting that the Dolphins dysfunction was a key factor in his decision.

The crutch of all this is the fact that guys like Farmer and even Caserio may not even be the best candidates for the job both coming with looming questions of their credentials and experience.  Some even wondered why Ross would target a few of these candidates at all, like Dennis Hickey.  The fact that so many potential promotions were declined makes you wonder what exactly is going on with the teams process.