The Jeff Ireland era ended quietly on Tuesday.
Ireland and the team released a joint statement saying his six-year tenure as general manager had come to an end.
“(Owner) Steve (Ross) and I came to an agreement that the best thing moving forward for all parties would be to part ways,” Ireland said in the statement.
“I’d like to thank Steve for all his support and kindness. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing people during this time, and I’d like to thank them all from the bottom of my heart.”
And with that Dolphins fans exhaled. Ireland found himself making more headlines, not the good kind, than most NFL general managers do.
— Asking Dez Bryant if his mom was a prostitute before the 2010 draft. He sort of apologized for that.
— Joining Ross on a cross-country flight in January 2011 to try and convince Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh to be their coach. One problem: Tony Sparano was still the coach and remained in that position for the following season before he was finally let go.
— Allowing the bullying scandal between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin to make national headlines for weeks, turning Miami into the league’s laughingstock. His level of involvement is still unknown.
— Overseeing the team’s free-agent spending spree last offseason, including the costly signing of wide receiver Mike Wallace, that led to an 8-8 season. They seemed poised to resurrect the franchise at 8-6, but missed the playoffs after ending the season with losses to the Bills and Jets.
But none of that directly led to his firing. Instead, according to the Miami Herald, it was a feud with coach Joe Philbin. It started with Ireland complaining about Philbin and word getting back to the second-year coach through executive vice president Dawn Aponte. Philbin and Ireland barely spoke after the season and Ireland was axed two weeks later, days after offensive coordinator Mike Sherman was canned.
Now, the search for replacement begins, and the Herald depicts an unfavorable situation for the once proud franchise. The new GM or “football czar” would have to accept Philbin as the head coach and understand Aponte will hold some power.
Sound familiar, Jets fans? The team went through a similar shaming last season after GM Mike Tannenbaum was fired and Rex Ryan was kept on as coach. John Idzik eventually accepted the position, but the relationship between him and Ryan remains a source of speculation.
And this name is definitely familiar to Jets fans: Eric Mangini was floated by the Herald as a potential Ireland replacement.