In a startling, yet necessary move, the Miami Dolphins broke their silence with the hiring of former GM of the New York Jets, Mike Tannenbaum as VP of football operations. Tannenbaum, 45, has been with Stephen Ross nearly a year as a consultant on the business side of the Dolphins through the use of performance analytics and various athletic endeavors. In addition, Tannenbaum has served as an agent for Priority Sports & Entertainment. As a result of his hiring, effective February 1st, Tannenbaum will have to hand over all of his clients to an associate to avoid any potential inkling about a conflict of interest. One of his many clients is sought after defensive coordinator Dan Quinn of the Seattle Seahawks who has interviewed with none other than the New York Jets a Dolphins rival and former employer of Tannenbaum.
The move of hiring Tannenbaum, however is puzzling given that the Dolphins have a GM in place with Dennis Hickey. The move is even more puzzling since Tannenbaum previously worked as GM for owner Woody Johnson in New York for the Jets. Tannenbaum is responsible for drafting Darrelle Revis, pulling off a draft day trade for Mark Sanchez, and finally being directly responsible for the roster that earned two AFC East appearances in consecutive seasons 2009, 2010.
However, as Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post recently posted on Twitter, this hiring has more to do about GM Dennis Hickey than Head Coach Joe Philbin. Head Coach Joe Philbin will continue to report to Stephen Ross, but now GM Dennis Hickey will report to a new boss, a football VP in Mike Tannenbaum.
To clarify I'm told that the Mike Tannenbaum hire is an indictment on Dennis Hickey as GM. Obviously team isn't fully confident in Hickey.
— Andrew Abramson (@AbramsonFL) January 6, 2015
In addition, after the conference call, which we were not privy to, Andrew Abramson clarified his understanding of the Tannenbaum dynamic as being about the “big picture” and that Hickey will remain with the team. According to Abramson, per the conference call, the hiring of Tannenbaum is more about allowing Hickey to do what he does best, player personnel, scouting, and draft rather than the “day to day” player acquisition.
Tannenbaum will over see Hickey’s work, but work closely with Dawn Aponte on the day to day operations of the Dolphins similarly to what Bill Parcells did in 2008-2010.
Per the Miami Dolphins website Tannenbaum will:
“handle football administration. Tannenbaum and Head Coach Joe Philbin will report directly to Owner Stephen Ross. General Manager Dennis Hickey will report directly to Tannenbaum and will continue to lead the personnel and scouting departments and have control of the 53-man roster.”
Bottom line, this hire has plenty to do with the Dolphins goal as a franchise making the playoffs.
Isn’t that ultimately what Dolphins fans want???
Here is to the collaboration of many making the difference in 2015!
Phins Up!
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