NFL Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins Hiring Mike Tannenbaum Is a Recipe For Disaster

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By @CouchGuyFB

Miami Dolphins, Mike Tannenbaum

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In what is undoubtedly the most puzzling move of the offseason, the Miami Dolphins announced on Tuesday that former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum will take over as Executive Vice President of Football Operations.

To many Dolphins fans, this is just the latest slap in the face from owner Stephen Ross and is a prime example of how ineptly he has handled the franchise over the last few years. At the same time, there are those who think that Tannenbaum’s experience with contract negotiations will help the Dolphins navigate the salary cap and improve the team.

I happen to agree with those who think that this baffling move is pure folly.

General manager Dennis Hickey will report to Tannenbaum, but head coach Joe Philbin will not, indicating that the power structure will be so contorted that it is borderline nonsensical. It also indicates that there is zero confidence in Hickey’s abilities, even after a relatively successful rookie year in his post as GM. So now, instead of Hickey, the Dolphins have elected to bring in the guy who set the Jets’ fall from grace into motion.

Taking things a step further, when has it ever been a good idea to put a guy in charge of personnel decisions but not in charge of the people who put the players on the field? To look at it another way, would it be a good decision for a company to give somebody the ability to hire people but have absolutely no control over what position the people he hires will take with the company?

The answer is unequivocally no.

While this is an abstract scenario, it is essentially what the Dolphins have done with the Tannenbaum hire. Tannenbaum comes in as the new “HR” guy, but he has no control over what job the guys he brings in will be doing since Philbin doesn’t answer to him. Couple that with the ridiculous conflict of interest that Tannenbaum has as an agent representing coaches with ties to the open jobs of two divisional rivals, and it’s easy to see that things have the possibility to go sideways in a hurry.

This is undoubtedly a recipe for disaster that perfectly embodies the disconnect that the Dolphins’ front office has with what makes a successful football franchise. Ross and Dawn Aponte have created a dumpster fire, and they just poured lighter fluid on it.

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