Breaking Down Shore's Ascent and the New Dolphins Power Structure

The Miami Dolphins made official their new power structure in their front office Monday, and the most noteworthy development involved the promotion of Brandon Shore to the role of executive vice president of football operations.

Shore had served as senior vice president of football and business administration the previous five years, but this is a whole different level. It's a position, in fact, that hasn't been filled since 2018 when Mike Tannenbaum handled the role.

In his new capacity, per the Dolphins, Shore will work alongside new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley and oversee "athletic training and performance, football technology, strategy and analytics, team and training facility operations, sod farm operations, equipment, video, team security, and player engagement. He also serves as the team's chief negotiator for player contracts, manages the salary cap and club compliance with the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement, and acts as the organization's liaison on labor relations and league matters."

Sullivan made clear after his hiring in January that he's the final decision-maker when it comes to personnel, but this is noteworthy nonetheless.

Shore has worked his way up the ranks since joining the Dolphins in 2010 and was a voice in the organization alongside former GM Chris Grier and former head coach Mike McDaniel, both of whom were dismissed over the past nine months.

Shore always has operated in the background, never doing media interviews, and one can't help but wonder whether he voiced an objection to the doomed contracts the Dolphins gave Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey in 2024 that clearly played a signifcant role in the front office overhaul.

NEW TRAINING STAFF

Another area where the Dolphins made a significant change involves "player performance" and strength and conditioning.

The Dolphins promoted Kyle Johnston, who had been head athletic trainer for the past eight years, adding the title of vice president of sports medicine and performance.

The team also hired Todd Hunt as director of strength and conditioning after he spent the past two seasons with the Green Bay Packers, where Sullivan and Hafley previously worked.

Gone are Dave Puloka as director of player performance and Brent Callaway as strength and conditioning coach. Puloka, who had been with the Dolphins since 2008, has joined the Tennessee Titans as a senior assistant.

One noticeable change in terms of training early on has been much longer stretching periods before practice. Whether that changes the Dolphins' bad luck with injuries is debatable, but it obviously doesn't hurt to try something different.

THE OTHER NOTABLE CHANGES AND PROMOTIONS

Among the other front office additions, most of which already were known but not quite official yet, the Dolphins hired former Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson and longtime NFL executive Shaun Herock as senior personnel executives.

Herock is entering his 38th NFL season and his resume includes 19 years with the Packers, eight of which (2004-11) were spent working with Sullivan.

The Dolphins also made official the hiring of Kyle Smith as assistant general manager, though it looked for a bit as though that announcement never would be made. Smith was among the candidates who interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings GM position.

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