What the Sullivan Hiring Could Mean for the Head Coach Search

Now that the Miami Dolphins have their full-time general manager in place, the next step in the rebuilding of the franchise will be the hiring of a new head coach.

And with the hiring of former Green Bay Packers VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM after his contract is finalized, it's only natural to look to his Packers connections when we start to evaluate potential candidates.

And the four names that quickly come to mind are former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenovich and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.

While the first three connections are obvious, Campanile spent the 2024 season with the Packers as run game coordinator after he left the Dolphins after four years on the coaching staff.

And then there's a wild card in the equation, and that's Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. His job status has been discussed despite his 76-40-1 record in his seven years on the job because his contract expires after the 2026 season.

Sullivan started in his role as VP of player personnel for the Packers in 2022, four years after McCarthy's final season as head coach. Sulivan was director of college scouting in 2016-17 and then co-director of player personnel in 2018.

NON-PACKERS POSSIBILITIES

This is important to note because John Harbaugh may stand out as the top coaching candidate of this 2026 offseason cycle based on his resume, but McCarthy should be viewed almost on the same plane.

The credentials for both coaches are practically identical, with each making the playoffs in 12 of their 18 seasons, each winning on Super Bowl title, but with Harbaugh having a slightly better regular season winning percentage (.614 to .608).

Multiple reports have suggested that the Dolphins had not reached out to Harbaugh as of Friday morning despite the fact he was fired Tuesday, though that obviously could — and probably figures to — change.

Harbaugh is expected to begin interviewing for open positions — there currently are eight of them, including his former team — and it still figures the Dolphins will call at some point.

The hiring of Sullivan, though, showed the Dolphins have followed through on their reported goal of establishing a three-member power structure of cap guru Brandon Shore along with their GM and their head coach.

It's why the idea that the Dolphins automatically would hire longtime Baltimore scouting exec Chad Alexander as their new GM to try to lure Harbaugh didn't wash — besides, Alexander was a strong candidate in his own right.

And the hiring of Sullivan also doesn't preclude the Dolphins from pursuing or eventually landing Harbaugh as their new head coach.

The familiarity with McCarthy, Hafley, Stenavich and Campanile certainly could come into play if the Dolphins are debating between two candidates they view as equal, but it also won't be the determining factor.

And it's almost a guarantee there will be head coach candidates from outside the Green Bay orbit.

The Dolphins also could be interested in somebody else from the Packers this offseason, that being quarterback Malik Willis, and Sullivan obviously is very familiar with him.

But it's not like Sullivan's arrival is going to deliver Willis to the Dolphins because there might wind up being a bidding war for his services after his impressive late-season performances and it could that Miami won't be able to afford him because of their bad salary-cap situation.

And let's also not think that Willis is going to take a discount to come to Miami to join a front office executive — because that's not how things work.

Ultimately, Sullivan's biggest role in Miami will be to help improve the player procurement process. If he can help land a high-end head coach as well, that would just be a bonus.

NON-PACKERS POSSIBILITIES

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