It was clear the Miami Dolphins needed a major organizational shake-up this offseason. Whether firing Mike McDaniel as head coach was the right move remains to be seen. What was clear is that GM Chris Grier had worn out his welcome. So much so that he got fired during the 2025 season.
Regardless of the McDaniel of it all, it was going to take a philosophical shift in the front office to get Miami back on course. Enter: Jon-Eric Sullivan as Grier's successor, with a long track record in small-market Green Bay and a head coach in tow in Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
Whereas McDaniel was in an arranged marriage with Grier, it's probably for the best that the Dolphins have a united GM-coach front from Day 1.
But Sullivan's mass cuts on Monday, including Bradley Chubb and Tyreek Hill, hinted at just how big the change is about to be for this franchise. In all likelihood, it'll be for the better.
How GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is *moving different* from Chris Grier to kick-start Dolphins' reboot
The kids say that nowadays, right? "Move different." OK, before I age myself too much, Sullivan is going the exact opposite of Grier in three key areas I'd like to expound upon in this space.
Rather than jumbling them all together in a wall of text, here's where Sullivan is working to improve the mess Grier made over the years:
1. Sullivan will not cling to dubious offensive line solutions to play out the string for the sake of it.
2. The depth chart of pass-catchers, particularly at wide receiver, will be taken seriously.
3. A draft-over-splash approach appears to be the new regime's M.O.
In addition to the releases of Chubb and Hill, Sullivan cut loose last year's prized free-agent acquisition, right guard James Daniels. He missed all but Week 1 due to a pectoral injury. The wide receiver room is also thinner with the release of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
Daniels signed a three-year, $24 million deal. Sullivan clearly didn't think he was up to snuff at that value. Westbrook-Ikhine inked a two-year accord worth $6.5 million. He, too, was deemed unworthy.
Sheesh. Jon-Eric Sullivan isn't even trying to hide his dislike of Grier's prior moves.
Regarding Daniels in particular, he was coming off a torn Achilles. Credit where it's due for hitting on Aaron Brewer at center, but Grier was too little, too late, and not proactive enough to shore up Miami's interior offensive line. Perhaps Tua Tagovailoa's decline in performance and injury history wouldn't be as severe if Grier had given him better pass protection sooner.
Grier whiffed on trading up for left guard Jonah Savaiinaea in the second round of last year's draft, and honestly, right tackle hasn't exactly been solved. Austin Jackson continues to just kind of hang out on the roster at a hefty $15+ million price tag for the coming year.
Bear in mind, though, that Sullivan's moves aren't in pure spiteful rebellion against Grier's prior missteps. This Dolphins team has real salary cap constraints. Making cuts is inevitable. It's just a pretty big indictment on Grier that two marquee free agents aren't being retained, and that those decision is coming down so early. And I don't anticipate Daniels or Westbrook-Ikhine to have huge markets.
On to flaw No. 2 that Sullivan is addressing in short order. Miami didn't take the depth behind Hill and Jaylen Waddle at wide receiver seriously during Grier's tenure.
Half-measure solutions like Westbrook-Ikhine and a total neglect of the tight end room that Sullivan is already striving to rectify underscore how the Dolphins didn't set up their offense for optimal success in 2025. They lucked into a practice squad guy in Greg Dulcich at tight end, and had to trade for Darren Waller once he unretired. That's not how you build a tight end corps.
As for the receiver position, well, it's not as top-heavy now that Tyreek has left the building. Westbrook-Ikhine isn't taking up a decent chunk of change at the position, either.
Our own Shayne Kubas had Miami drafting Indiana wideout Omar Cooper Jr. and Vanderbilt tight end Eli Sowers in the second and third rounds of his recent mock draft. Gotta say, that seems all the more realistic after all these cost-cutting measures deployed by Sullivan.
The biggest headline-makers among Sullivan's Monday cuts were Chubb and Hill for sure. They sacrificed a lot of draft capital, including two first-round picks, to get both of them. Those splashy moves amounted to two playoff trips and zero postseason victories.
Armed with three third-round picks, plus their own first- and second-rounders, Sullivan's Packers background is steeped in drafting well, and retaining that in-house talent. Sully has picks aplenty to play with in 2026.
It's OK to make splashy moves if you pair them with a sound draft process. Grier didn't do that. Sullivan is clearly keen to take a more measured approach to this Dolphins rebuild on all fronts.