Report: Jeff Ireland To Remain As Dolphins GM After Season, Tony Sparano To Be Fired As Coach

The Miami Dolphins are likely to fire head coach Tony Sparano after the season, but will retain general manager Jeff Ireland, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

The Dolphins started the season 0-7, but have put together a string of improved performances to bring their record up to a more respectable 4-9; Salguero, citing a person with knowledge of the situation, reports that no decision has been made yet but the team's improvement is unlikely to help save Sparano's job.

Ireland remaining, however, is something that Salguero calls know "as solid as something of this matter can be in the NFL."  It's an unusual assertion, since Ireland -- who has been the driving force behind the team's personnel moves since October 2008 -- built the roster that has earned this disappointing record.  But Salguero claims that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross believes the problem is with the way the way the personnel is being used, not the way the roster is constructed.