Former Dolphins draft pick slams Jeff Ireland for "destroying" the franchise

Sean Smith had all the tools to be one of the great Miami Dolphins cornerbacks. Drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft, Smith spent his first four NFL seasons in Miami. He is now throwing his GM under the bus.

Smith spoke with the gents from the Dive Bar Podcast and didn't hold back on his opinion of the much-maligned and oft-questioned GM. Needless to say, his profanity-laced segment is not safe for work.

Sean Smith pulls no punches in his opinion of the Miami Dolphins former general manager

"Jeff Ireland thought he ran the whole organization, but he made some BS decisions," Smith said of Ireland. "I really don't understand what that man was thinking."

Let's be honest, Ireland was as much of the problem in Miami as anyone else. His draft picks were debatable, and his roster build was at times suspect, but the man was also put into a bad position from the start.

Hired by Bill Parcells during the final years of Wayne Huizenga's ownership, Ireland was often at the center of internal controversy. In the beginning, he was the GM in name only, but after Parcells left the team, Ireland took over and did nothing to advance the franchise.

Ireland held the position from 2008 until he was terminated in 2013. During that time, he made a mess by traveling to San Francisco with Ross to lure Jim Harbaugh to Miami. Tony Sparano was still the coach, and it divided the front office and the coaching staff.

In 2012, he was part of the hiring process that brought Joe Philbin to the Dolphins, but during this time, Ross hired Dawn Aponte to the executive staff, and a power struggle between her and Ireland ensued. Philbin took Aponte's side, and things spiraled quickly.

When Ireland was fired, no one seemed to care, but no one was sticking up for or degrading him. He moved on to another NFL job, and the Dolphins continued their downward spiral. During Ireland's seasons with the Dolphins, they never finished with a record better than 8-8.

Smith was on hand for all of it. The Dolphins didn't want to pay Smith on a contract extension, something Smith told the Dive Bar.

"Talk to anyone whose not playing anymore...that guy. Terrible. He offered me like $1.2 (million), it was something crazy. I'm like, what? I hung up so fast."

Smith would sign with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent and spend another 5 seasons in the league, with his final 2 years in Oakland with the Raiders. Statistically, Smith was a good corner, but never hit the elite level many expected.

This could be just Smith's opinion on Ireland, and he said he didn't want to leave Miami, so the contract issues could be influencing those thoughts, but one thing is certain: under Ireland, the Dolphins did not progress at all. Hopefully, Jon-Eric Sullivan has more success with his opportunity to build a team in South Beach.

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