The Miami Dolphins recently made a move that would shake up the look of their front office. Former New York Jets G.M. Mike Tannenbaum was promoted to the role of Executive Vice President of Football Operations.
First reported by Fox Sports earlier in the day – then later confirmed by the Miami Herald – the decision to promote Tannenbaum was one that has been in the making for quite some time now. Back in August, Tannenbaum was hired by Miami and mainly brought in as an agent with Priority Sports. At the time, he was not responsible for any on-field or personnel duties. That will now changed.
The Dolphins promoting Tannenbaum to this new position is reminiscent of the Bill Parcells hiring. Tannenbaum, much like Parcells, will be responsible for overseeing all decisions that are made by current general manager Denis Hickey and his staff. Head coach Joe Philbin will continue to report to owner Stephen Ross.
With Tannenbaum now running the show in Miami, the pressure is on to succeed. Over the last decade and a half this once premiere franchise has been victimized by mediocrity. The last time the Dolphins were victorious in the playoffs was the 2000 season.
Although success is not guaranteed with the addition, it certainly should give Miami fans hope moving forward. Along with years of football knowledge – including back-to-back AFC Championship appearances in New York – Tannenbaum brings familiarity to the staff. In his previous tenure with New York, Tannenbaum worked with current staff members Matt Higgins and Dawn Aponte
In 2012, Jets owner Woody Johnson fired Tannenbaum after a dismal 6-10 season. A couple of moves Tannenbaum caught fire for was the hiring of head coach Eric Mangini and the extension of Mark Sanchez. Outside of the Jets playoff run in 2006, Mangini finished with a below .500 record after three seasons. Mark Sanchez, on the other hand, did not live up to his $20 million in guarantees that he received prior to the 2012 season. Just one season after signing the contract, Sanchez threw just 13 touchdowns to eighteen interceptions. He also missed the entire following season due to injury.
This leads to why the signing could end up going sour for Miami. If the team does not perform on the field and not make the playoffs in the future, then the finger pointing will run rampid. It would be unfair to put all the blame on Tannenbaum, however, his pending offseason decisions will determine how much blame he receivers.
The move was necessary, though. Over the last two years the Dolphins have collapsed down the stretch, resulting in back-to-back 8-8 seasons. Moving Tannenbaum up will add another voice in the ear of owner Stephen Ross in terms of personnel decisions.
Overall the signing is a good one for Miami. Sure, Tannenbaum has had his failures well documented. Failure isn’t the only thing he is known for, however. As stated earlier Tannenbaum played a major role in a Jets team that made back-to-back AFC Championships. The talent level on Miami is already well above-average, resulting in just a re-tooling effort, not rebuilding.
There is work to be done early for Tannenbaum and the rest of the staff. The Dolphins were inches away from the postseason over the last two years. A few right moves this offseason and Miami might finally be able to break their playoff drought. The pressure is on. Now, more so than ever before.