NFL Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins Bringing In Mike Tannenbaum Is A Good Move

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The Star-Ledger-USA TODAY Sports

The Star-Ledger-USA TODAY Sports

It was announced on Tuesday afternoon that Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, would be bringing in former New York Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum to work within the Dolphins organization.

Tannenbaum has been working with Ross as an adviser since being fired as GM of the Jets in 2012. He spent a total of 12 seasons in New York, responsible for having a part in hiring Rex Ryan as head coach. The two saw success together, reaching the playoffs three separate times and going as far as the AFC Championship in 2009 and 2010.

The way the structure will work is this: Dennis Hickey, Miami’s current GM entering his second season, will instead report to Tannenbaum instead of going straight to Ross. Joe Philbin, Miami’s head coach who is entering his fourth season, will still report directly to Ross. Andrew Abramson, reporter for the Palm Beach Post, said on Twitter that the “Dolphins will now have the same setup they had with Jeff Ireland reporting to Bill Parcells. Hickey reporting to Tannenbaum.”

Tannenbaum’s official title with the organization will be Executive Vice President of Football Operations. If you’re not familiar with the position, just compare it to what John Elway does with the Denver Broncos. He acts as a higher authority to the general manager, in this case Hickey.

A familiar face for Tannenbaum is already on staff with the Dolphins. Dawn Aponte, Executive Vice President of Football Administration, worked alongside Tannenbaum in New York before coming to Miami.

For Miami to make this work, Hickey will need to have full control when it comes to situations such as the draft. Some of Tannenbaum’ draft selections were complete busts: Vernon Gholston, Stephen Hill, Shonn Greene, just to name a few. Hickey, however, has a knack of working the draft, and was the man who brought guys like Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he was previously the GM before coming South.

Where Tannenbaum’s skills will  be greatly influential will be in free agency. He can work alongside Hickey, Philbin and Aponte to get the salary cap number under control, all while helping build the team for the future.

Tyler Olson is an NFL and Miami Dolphins writer for www.RantSports.com.  Follow him on Twitter @to2471, like him on Facebook, and connect with him on Google.

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