When the Miami Dolphins cleaned house following the 2025 season, the eventual hire of Jon-Eric Sullivan at perhaps the single most significant position in the entire franchise was met with fanfare. Sullivan, coming over from the Green Bay Packers, had been an integral part of one of the steadiest front offices in the entire league over the last two decades.
His introduction to Dolphins fans had a clear theme of tempering expectations. Sullivan wasn't walking into a turnkey operation after all; this was apparently a total tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild. While Sullivan was careful to avoid the use of the "rebuild" word, the messaging was unmistakable from him and the Dolphins' new head coach, Jeff Hafley.