Kelly: Dolphins need to turn football side over to a former legend | Opinion
H. Wayne Huizenga realized the Miami Dolphins were lost heading into the 2004, and the team’s former owner came to the realization that he couldn’t fix it without help, so the franchise’s now-deceased owner handed the team to Dan Marino, anointing him the vice president of football operations that offseason.
Marino held the position for three weeks before quitting after realizing the work it entailed, and saying it wasn’t in the best interest of his family or the franchise.
While that decision turned out to be a disaster, it doesn’t mean Huizenga didn’t have the right idea. He just chose the wrong person.
It’s about time someone who understands football — a former player who bleeds aqua and orange — is put in charge of the football side of this franchise, called on to point Steve Ross, who is concluding season No. 17 as the Dolphins’ majority owner, in the right direction.
It’s clear Ross needs guidance based on his history of bad hires.
Who knows coaches better than the people who performed for them?
Who knows talent better than the players who executed at a high level?
That’s why Ross and CEO Tom Garfinkel, who has succeeded in just about everything he has touched on the business side of Ross’ sports enterprise, should be pulling up to the homes of Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse to run the Dolphins.
Thomas has stayed away from football because of his obsessive nature, trying to prevent football from consuming his life the way it did as a player. But two of his three children are teenagers now, so maybe it’s time to find a passion project more meaningful than day trading.
Thomas has suffered in the wilderness of Dolphins’ dysfunction with the rest of South Florida, where he still resides, and if asked he would probably do the job Marino accepted, then quit on, out of duty and honor. He probably wouldn’t do it forever, but he could definitely help lay a solid foundation.
Same goes for Taylor, who worked as a Dolphins TV and radio broadcaster for two seasons before entering the coaching ranks with the Miami Hurricanes in 2022. The six-time Pro Bowl selection currently coaches UM’s defensive ends.
Taylor has become obsessed with coaching, but who wants to suck up to 18-year-old college kid he’s recruiting and coaching instead of running an NFL franchise?
Thomas would be my first choice because nobody poured more time into film study than him, but if the Hall of Fame linebacker declined the executive role, I would turn to Taylor, a Hall of Fame pass rusher, to build a staff, restructure the football side of the organization, hire a head coach and usher in better choices for this floundering franchise.
This isn’t about money, even those Ross has a reputation for paying.
It’s not about power, even though that position is one of 32 like it in the world.
And more importantly, that kind of hire wouldn’t be about name recognition to appease the fan base.
Empowering Thomas and/or Taylor would be leaning on loyalty and commitment, and hoping that changes the course of this franchise.
Jerry West, Larry Bird and Joe Dumars were all legendary players who turned into successful NBA executives.
Pat Riley played and coached in the NBA before running the Miami Heat for the past 30 years, building one of the NFL’s most culture-driven franchises.
The only reason we assume this might not work in the NFL is because the old boys club’ has convinced these owners that lawyers, accountants and computer nerds who specialize in analytics are more qualified to evaluate football talent than the players who actually played it.
This approach worked for the Cleveland Browns, which turned into the Baltimore Ravens, when they moved Ozzie Newsome from the playing field into a scouting role in 1990, a front-office role four years later, and eventually made him the top decision maker in the franchise in 2002.
Even though Newsome gave up his general manager role six years ago, everyone in the NFL knows who runs the Ravens, which have been one of the best-run franchises in the NFL.
John Lynch’s Hall of Fame career ended in 2008, and after a stint on TV as a broadcaster the San Francisco 49ers made him their general manager in 2017 with no experience in the role. Under his leadership the 49ers are one of the NFL’s best-run franchises.
While there have been just as many failures as successes when it comes to former greats running sports franchises, there is no exact science to finding the right fit for an organization.
What the Dolphins need is leadership, a template, and where better to find it than the players who have actually led the franchise during its last successful period?
I would rather do that than hand the highest position in the franchise to a legend’s do-boy (Jeff Ireland), a cap guru (Dawn Aponte), a career scout (Dennis Hickey), a lawyer turned executive (Mike Tannenbaum), and then the yes man who followed him (Chris Grier).
Those are the five individuals Ross has put in charge of the Dolphins since Bill Parcells left the franchise in the middle of the 2010 season to remove himself from the bickering that was taking place between Ireland and then head coach Tony Sparano.
Despite all those leaders South Florida’s NFL franchise is just as dysfunctional now as it was then.
One day the NFL will smarten up, and my hope is that Ross is the owner who pioneers that change, hiring a former player to his highest post, just like he was ahead of his time, pioneering the NFL’s culture shift to embrace women in front office, officiating and coaching roles.
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM.
