The Miami Dolphins are going through some major changes this offseason after parting ways with general manager Jeff Ireland and after suffering another losing season and missing the playoffs, the team needs a new front office leader and owner Stephen Ross will start looking for a new executive starting at the end of the week and that could have a huge effect on who the team drafts in April.
According to ESPN.com, Ross and the Dolphins have been preparing their plans since parting ways with Ireland and firing offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and there are now many questions heading into the offseason and it starts with the GM. The Dolphins were in wild card contention into Week 17, but the offense went cold over the final two weeks and that is likely why Sherman was canned and depending on who the team hires at general manager, Ryan Tannehill's future could be in question. Pro Football Talk reports that some names that could be in the mix are Tom Gamble from the Eagles, Mike Tannenbaum and Scott Pioli and the team plans on interviewing multiple candidates for the position.
The fact that Sherman was fired and Ireland was let go doesn't bode well for quarterback Ryan Tannehill and while head coach Joe Philbin supports him and Ross surely does as well, he has not been anything close to his fellow draftees in Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin as well as Russell Wilson, all of whom have been to the playoffs already. Tannehill disappeared over the final two games of the season and while it might not be the smartest move after just picking Tannehill, things are different than they used to be. Changing things up with a recent first round quarterback draft pick used to be very hard because of all the money involved, but now that the rookie contracts are structured differently, Tannehill isn't sinking the Dolphins cap and while it still would be tough to maneuver, it's at least more manageable.
There's no guarantee the team will do that, but players like Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, Derek Carr and Zach Mettenberger will be in the draft and while the top names may be off the board, a player like Carr is within reach. The team is also looking for a new offensive coordinator and that could also have a big impact on what the team does with Tannehill and the draft and according to ESPN.com, the team is looking at Eagles QB coach Bill Lazor, who had some great success with turning Nick Foles into a fantastic quarterback this season, as well as recently fired head coach Gary Kubiak from the Houston Texans and it comes after he previously ran the offense in Denver.
