When the Miami Dolphins looked to make a change in their organization, they turned to Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. His addition as a consultant brought questions from the NFL media.
Aikman's future with the Dolphins has been in question ever since Jon-Eric Sullivan was hired as the team's GM. It was reported that he would remain with the team as a consultant, but his involvement was undefined.
With the NFL season getting closer, many have wondered if the ESPN MNF announcer would stick with his Dolphins job. Aikman has made it clear that he will continue in that "undefined" role on the Dallas Dialogue with Dale show.
Roger Goodell gives Troy Aikman the green light to continue with the Miami Dolphins and ESPN
The Concerns
Aikman has access to every NFL team in the days and weeks leading up to Monday night football games. He interviews executives, coaches, and players, often gaining information unavailable to the opposing team.
Naturally, having that advantage could help the Dolphins. Aikman doesn't see it that way.
"Well, the Dolphins are not expected to be very good this year,” Aikman said. “They’re getting out of cap hell, and so there’s no Monday Night game with the Dolphins this year."
Aikman also said that he spoke with the commissioner about his role with Miami and that Goodell is "Fine with what I'm doing and my role."
The Dolphins involvement
Aikman's role with Miami is still unclear. He was hired as an outside advisor shortly after the team's season ended. This was a push by new CEO Danny Sillman, who has taken over the daily job of running the organization.
Sillman began getting more involved with the team last year, but his voice became a lot louder after the season ended. Sillman pushed for Aikman to join the Dolphins during their search for a new GM. Based on Aikman's opinion and the interview process with Sullivan, Sillman took Aikman's advice, and owner Stephen Ross hired Sullivan.
Sillman wasn't done. He wanted Aikman to remain with the team in a capacity that we still don't know. Sillman was the driving force behind Mike McDaniel's termination. The soon-to-be CEO spoke candidly with Sullivan and urged him to make his own decision about the coaching situation. A day after Sullivan was hired, McDaniel was let go. How much of that was from Aikman's involvement is unknown.
The Aikman influence
With Aikman sticking around, the Dolphins have an outside voice to help guide Sillman as he takes over control of the team internally. Sillman is now the voice of the Dolphins, but it's Aikman whom he will likely lean on for advice. That's a good thing.
The executive structure in Miami has completely changed, and indirectly, that is because of Aikman. For the first time in Ross' ownership, the Dolphins have a new GM, a new HC, and a new CEO at the same time. Each of them comes from outside the organization.
Aikman is clearly involved with the Dolphins, but the scale and breadth of that involvement might never be known; he is sticking with them. He noted it's no different than what Tom Brady is doing with the Raiders.
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