Let's face it; when Sean McDermott was fired by the Miami Dolphins' rival, the Buffalo Bills, many fans thought getting him in South Florida was the best option for the Dolphins and new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan.
The Bills fired their nine-year coach after the Bills lost in the division round of the playoffs. The move took many, including quarterback Josh Allen, by surprise. On Wednesday, the team held a press conference outlining the reasons behind the move. It didn't go well.
Pursuing Sean McDermott may have led to conflict within the Miami Dolphins organization
The press conference started well enough, with owner Terry Pegula thanking McDermott for his time and efforts in bringing the Bills into a new era, but as questions began from the media, things started to head south.
Pegula said that after the game, he looked around the locker room, specifically saying Allen was crying and wouldn't acknowledge the owner. He said that Allen and the rest of the team gave everything they had to win that game. Allen's five turnovers didn't help their chances.
As the press conference continued, Pegula pointed out that several mistakes were made in the game, presumably by the coaching staff. He endorsed GM Brandon Beane. The problems began, however, when he started talking about several issues, including the drafting of wide receiver Keon Coleman.
This is where the Dolphins may have dodged that bullet. Beane was asked about the production of the receiver. Buffalo passed on Xavier Worthy and Lad McConkey. Needless to say, Coleman hasn't come close to his draft level.
Beane began talking about the move when Pegula interrupted to make it clear that Beane was not responsible for the selection, but instead blamed it on the coaching staff. When the question about Coleman was asked, Pegula quickly stepped in.
"I will address the Keon Coleman situation. The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. I wouldn't say that Brandon wouldn't have drafted him, but he wasn't his next choice. "Terry Pegula
He further said that the GM was being a "team player" and "taking the advice of his coaching staff." It was odd for the owner to stand up for Beane, who has repeatedly been at the end of the dagger among Bills' fans.
If this were to be true, it would shed light on how much power McDermott may have had or expected to have on the roster. Had he joined the Dolphins, would he have expected his opinion on players to carry more weight? Would it have put Sullivan in a bad position?
Sullivan has preached that building a culture, inside and out, is what they want to do, and it's not a play on words. His idea of culture isn't just something that exists in the locker room; it's throughout the entire building. It's a way of thinking that embodies a roster-building approach with a certain type of player who will thrive within the boundaries of those ideals.
With Jeff Hafley, there is already a common structure for roster building. There are similar approaches to identifying players who fit within the team's template. Sullivan is hoping to build a winner by changing direction and fostering conformity toward those ideals.
Many fans have criticized the hire as being a handout to a friend, but that isn't necessarily the case. Hafley was interviewed by other teams and had at least three others before accepting the Dolphins' job. He wasn't a Mike McDaniel-type coach who was only interviewed by the Dolphins.
Sullivan and Hafley may now be joined at the hip as things start to unfold and play out, but had the GM hired someone outside of the program he came up within, it could have started badly with a proven coach who would want to leverage his success on having more control.
Hafley has to be assertive in his convictions, and Sullivan has said he will listen to everyone, but he can't do what Chris Grier often did. Like Beane, he went against his own judgment to accommodate the desires of a coach, and that has not worked out well for Miami.