Mike

Tannenbaum

Tannenbaum had run football operations for the Dolphins, but GM Chris Grier will take over those duties. It seems like there was something of a power struggle going on behind the scenes in Miami, and both Tannenbaum and Adam Gase lost.

But according to Salguero, “barring some unexpected circumstance”, coach Adam Gase and GM Chris Grier are expected to remain in place. Tannenbaum, the ex-Jets GM, has been in Miami since 2014 and was part of the group that hired Gase and Grier. Tannenbaum doesn’t have much power in the organization, since Gase has all of the personnel decision-making powers and has full control of the 53-man roster, offense, defense, and special teams. Gase is on very shaky ground.

He’s replacing Dennis Hickey, who despite a solid job following up Jeff Ireland was predictably forced out after one year by VP of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum. Grier is an in-house promotion. Grier is known as a football scout after spending the last eight years as the Dolphins’ Director of College Scouting. He previously spent five years working with the Patriots.

Tannenbaum’s title is a fancy way of saying he’ll be owner Stephen Ross’ new football czar, a la Mike Holmgren in Cleveland. He spent the past year as a “consultant” to Ross. It’s an ominous development for GM Dennis Hickey and coach Joe Philbin, though amazingly, Philbin is expected to continue reporting directly to Ross. Hickey will likely be demoted, even if he retains his “GM” title. The Jets’ GM from 2006-12, Tannenbaum didn’t stand out as a man deserving of a second chance to oversee someone’s entire football operation, but the Dolphins rarely make sound decisions. Tannenbaum was an abject disaster his final years in the Big Apple, though he did have the good sense to hire Rex Ryan, and oversaw a roster that made back-to-back AFC Championship Games. Either way, Ross is grasping at straws with his latest dart-board throw.