Dolphins, GM Dennis Hickey Part Ways

SATURDAY, 7:10pm: The Dolphins and Hickey have parted ways, Salguero reports. Grier is likely to take Hickey’s place.

On Hickey’s departure, Tannenbaum said, “I want to thank Dennis for his work over the last two years. We talked about a number of different possibilities, but at the end we reached this agreement. I have a great deal of respect for what he accomplished here and wish Dennis and his family well.”

Hickey also issued a statement, which in part reads: “Over the past week, I have had a number of conversations with the Dolphins organization about my role in the team. Ultimately the Dolphins and I agreed that it would be best if we parted ways. I will always be proud of our accomplishments in Miami including many key additions to the team through the draft and free agency.”

FRIDAY, 2:19pm: After another disappointing season in Miami, the Dolphins are expected to fire general manager Dennis Hickey on Monday, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Another source tells Florio that although discussions are ongoing regarding Hickey’s fate, nothing has yet been finalized. Meanwhile, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that while no decision has been made, it’s unlikely that Hickey will be retained.

Hickey was named the club’s general manager prior to the 2014 season after Miami conducted a lengthy search. The former Buccaneers executive had a largely successful first year with the Dolphins — he hit on draft picks Ja’Wuan James and Jarvis Landry, and made smart free agent decisions, bringing in Branden Albert and re-signing Brent Grimes.

But Hickey has been largely marginalized since his hiring, as he notably was not able to select his own head coach, having been assigned Joe Philbin. Additionally, the Dolphins hired ex-Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum as something of a football operations czar, further lessening Hickey’s impact. Tannenbaum took the lead on the club’s free agency and draft decisions, leaving it unclear as to exactly what Hickey’s role was.

According to Florio, Tannenbaum won’t name himself as Miami’s new GM (whether or not that has any material impact is unclear, given that Tannenbaum already wields total control of football matters). One key name to watch in the upcoming general manager search, a source tells Florio, is Dolphins director of college scouting Chris Grier, who was a candidate for both the Jets and Eagles GM vacancies last offseason.

Meanwhile, in a letter to season ticket holders (and passed along by Salguero), Dolphins owner Stephen Ross expressed his disappointment with the club’s results this season, and pledged that the team has already identified “several promising candidates” in it search for a head coach (a search, it should be noted, that will be lead by Tannenbaum). Interim head coach Dan Campbell will be granted an interview, per the letter, while any mention of Hickey was notably omitted altogether.