Sullivan Speaks: Five Takeaways from New Dolphins GM's First Interview

Jon-Eric Sullivan had some points comments about the Dolphins nucleus, how he wants to build the team, and more

The Miami Dolphins logo is seen at midfield prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Jon-Eric Sullivan is determined to build a tough, physical football team as general manager of the Miami Dolphins.

After more than two decades with the Green Bay Packers, Sullivan was announced as Miami’s general manager in early January. On Sunday, the Dolphins released an in-house interview where Sullivan discussed his background, philosophy, and vision for the Dolphins.

Here are five takeaways from Sullivan’s first interview as general manager of the Miami Dolphins.

1. Fast Gets Slow, But Big Doesn’t Get Small

The Dolphins leaned into being a finesse team under former general manager Chris Grier, but Sullivan is focused on building a roster that can withstand the elements against three divisional rivals in the Northeast. 

“I think, mental toughness, physical toughness, you start there from a character standpoint, and a burning desire to want to be the best that you can be and win," Sullivan said. "That's what we're all here to do. At the end of the day, if you broke it down to one word, we're here to win. 

“And then within that our division runs through Buffalo and New England and New York, cold-weather places. There's a saying in our business, fast gets slow, but big doesn't get small. So understand like we're not going to sacrifice speed and explosion and skill for a bunch of big, stiff guys, but we are going to have substance to us at all levels of our team, at corner, at receiver, at running back, and certainly up front.”

2. Draft, Develop, Retain: The Green Bay Packers Blueprint

Sullivan joined the Packers in 2004 as a football operations assistant and worked his way up the organization. He took over as co-director of player personnel in 2018 and spent four seasons as vice president of player personnel before joining the Dolphins. 

Green Bay made the playoffs in three of Sullivan’s four seasons as VP of player personnel and had a winning record in 16 of his 22 years with the franchise. 

“In my football career, I believe wholeheartedly in the process that I'm bringing through the door, and quite frankly, I hope long after I'm gone, that process is still in place here, much like Ron Wolf brought it to Green Bay, and it's still in place there,” Sullivan said.

“We're going to draft, develop, and retain our own. It's important to us that we raise our own, because that's culture, right? We don't want a team full of mercenaries that creates problems on multiple levels. Then it's who you infuse into that locker room. We want people who love football, who want to be the best that they can be, who are selfless, who are good teammates.”

While Sullivan emphasized building through the draft, it is worth noting that he joined Miami roughly five months after Green Bay traded two first-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys for Micah Parsons.

He said the team will be deliberate in how it uses every avenue of player acquisition, particularly free agency.

“We're going to use every player or every avenue of player acquisition to supplement this roster. We will be very intentional and deliberate in how we approach it, because free agency can be dangerous waters if you don't handle it the right way. 

“That is how we’ll move. [The roster will] be built through the draft, retain our own, supplement in other avenues like free agency, practice squad steals, waiver wires, and build this team out the best we can. But at every avenue, we will strengthen this roster if given the opportunity.” 

3. The Dolphins Building Blocks

The Dolphins enter the offseason roughly $30 million over the salary cap, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s future only further complicates roster construction.

While both Miami’s roster and finances need work, Sullivan brought up a handful of players he’s eager to build around — De'Von Achane, Aaron Brewer, Patrick Paul and Jordyn Brooks. Sullivan also was asked about Jaylen Waddle.

“[Jaylen Waddle is an] explosive athlete,” Sullivan said. “His ability to create separation at the top of the route is as good as any. Obviously, [De’Von] Achane’s production speaks for itself. He's a three-down back. He can strike from anywhere on the field. He's a home run guy.

“[Aaron] Brewer's ability to play out in space, snap, step, reach, get to the second level, and he plays, quite frankly, much bigger than his listed size. And then [Jordyn] Brooks is just a ball player, man. He can run. He's got great instincts. He'll strike you. That's an exciting group of guys to build around.” 

Sullivan also mentioned the potential of left tackle Patrick Paul, saying “[he] is a huge man with length who plays a big man's game. I'm really excited about him as we go through the process of building the rest of that offensive line.”

4. Avoiding a Team Full of Mercenaries 

Much like his comment about speed and size, Sullivan appeared to be speaking to Miami’s past shortcomings when discussing free agency and how quickly a team’s culture can be overrun by “mercenaries.”

“Culture is everything,” Sullivan said. “And when you draft and develop, and you raise your own, they're bought in. They understand what the standard is. When you fall into the trap of bringing a bunch of guys in from all over the place, there is no standard.

“Everybody's coming from a different standard. And just a team full of mercenaries is a scary place to be because everybody's got a different agenda. When you're raised in one place together, your agenda is the same, and that's to go win ballgames.”

5. Having the Final Say

While Sullivan has a specific vision for how the Dolphins can snap their 26-year playoff win drought, he emphasized that success will require collaboration across the organization.

“Everybody's got a role in this thing, and they're all very important, equally important, but it's collaboration with boundaries and trust,” Sullivan said. “I'm not going to walk down to the head coach's door on Saturday night, knock on his hotel door and say, hey, look, here's a third-and-long call sheet. You should run this. It's not what I do.

“At the end of the day, everybody within my process, everybody will have a seat at the table. We'll be very deliberate and intentional about how we go about that because I want to make sure that we eliminate the bias.”

The process of winning will be a group effort, but Sullivan also set clear boundaries regarding his role as general manager.

“The decision-making won't be collaborative because you're hiring me to make decisions. If we start voting on everything we do to make everybody feel good, the value of the process is out the window. I think making sure the right people are part of the process is just as important as the process itself. 

“You've got to eliminate the pride, eliminate the ego. At the end of the day, we all need to do what is best for this place. I'm not big on promises, but if I could promise anybody one thing right now on camera, every decision is my responsibility. It will never be about my personal agenda or my relationships in the building. It'll be about the Miami Dolphins and what is best for this place, period.”