MIAMI GARDENS — I hope Dolphins owner Steve Ross asked new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan one question during his interview: “What did you think of this franchise’s 2023 season?”
Sullivan, whose hiring isn’t yet official, needs to have said, “It was a huge disappointment, and a borderline failure.”
If Ross heard anything else he should have kicked Sullivan out of his office and informed him that such a participation-trophy mentality isn’t welcome to the new-era Miami Dolphins.
Sullivan must bring a new way of thinking to this era of Dolphins football.
The days of Club Mike, as my colleague, Dave Hyde labeled the easygoing training camps of ex-coach Mike McDaniel, must end immediately. The accompanying easygoing mindset must also end immediately.
Here’s the hardcore facts about Sullivan’s No. 1 requirement as new Dolphins GM…
The Dolphins need an organization-wide attitude adjustment. Badly. That’s the biggest need of the offseason, beyond general manager, head coach and quarterback.
I’ve seen this done on a few levels to a few extents among covering the Texas Rangers (1994-96), University of Miami football (1997-99) and Miami Heat (2002-12). The early Dolphins teams that I covered (2000-02) had a winning mentality. The recent Dolphins teams haven’t.
This organization’s priorities are misplaced. It thinks small. The bar for success and achievement is way too low, and the 2023 season is a prime example.
The previous Miami Dolphins administration celebrated and over-valued the 2023 season. They basked in its glory and wonder even though it only resulted in an 11-6 record that ended with a weak first-round playoff exit.
The Dolphins patted themselves on the back for having the league’s No. 1 offense, six Pro Bowl selections and lots of “likes” on social media.
That can no longer be accepted as success for the Dolphins.
The same goes for a single playoff win.
The Dolphins must close Disneyland and open a football factory that specializes in physicality and high standards.
I hope Sullivan, the former Green Bay vice president of player personnel, agrees.
I hope every head coach candidate agrees.
The Dolphins need Sullivan and the next head coach to establish a winning mentality.
Sullivan and the next head coach must bring a grinding, workmanlike mentality that accompanies a philosophy of building a complete team, especially in the trenches.
None of that was a priority of the previous administration. Those qualities were on the franchise’s wish list, but not on its list of basic commandments.
As a result, the Dolphins produced a speedy, finesse track team that wilted when going against NFL muscle.
The Dolphins need toughness. The Dolphins need an edge. The Dolphins need to emulate their sports neighbors.
The Dolphins keep trying to do the pretty-boy thing, building a fancy passing game around a highly skilled quarterback with a genius coach pushing the buttons.
Those days must be over.
The flashy, glitzy South Beach image of South Florida’s sports teams is fantasy.
South Florida’s teams have recently been defined by grit.
The two-time champion Florida Panthers apologized to no one for their hard-nosed style.
The Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat teams that went to the NBA Finals weren’t ideal off the court, but they were salty and tough-minded on the court.
The University of Miami football team that’s playing for a national title is led more by its aggressive, playmaking defense than its millionaire quarterback.
The Dolphins need to recognize what’s going on around them and jump aboard the train to physicality.
I like the Sullivan hire initially. He comes from Green Bay, an organization that knows what it’s doing.
But we won’t know anything about Sullivan’s competence until we’ve seen his operation running — the draft, free agency, offensive philosophy, defensive philosophy, quarterback philosophy.
What we’ll know fairly quickly is Sullivan’s mentality.
Sullivan must be about winning, not popularity, fashion or statistics.
The same goes for the head coach he hires.
The Dolphins must return to playing tackle football instead of flag football.
The best teams in the league always seem to have an edge, a killer instinct. Kansas City. Philadelphia. San Francisco. Detroit.
Look at this season’s upstart teams. Many of them are fueled by a butt-kicking defense. Houston. Denver. Seattle. New England. The Los Angeles Chargers. Jacksonville.
The Dolphins were never made in either of those molds during the previous four years.
Consequently, they never won a playoff game and are riding back-to-back losing seasons.
If Sullivan can fix this organization’s mentality, the winning will follow.