Miami Dolphins and GM Jeff Ireland 'part ways' after 6 seasons

The former scout-turned-GM made a lot of moves in Miami, but not enough to get them back to the playoffs.

By Kenneth Arthur@KennethArthuRS Jan 7, 2014, 6:13pm EST

The Miami Dolphins will be in the market for a new general manager after the Dolphins announced they and general manager Jeff Ireland "mutually agreed to part ways."

The move comes in the wake of late-season collapse that cost the Dolphins a spot in the playoffs. The team needed to win just one of its final two games, but lost both and finished 8-8. Miami's 20-7 loss to the Jets in Week 17 eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention.

The .500 finish is even more disappointing in the light of the flurry of big moves made by Ireland last offseason.
Miami traded up to the third pick in the NFL draft to select defensive end Dion Jordan, but the rookie played sparingly and recorded just two sacks on the year. Many expected the Dolphins were trading up to take an offensive tackle, as they had a major hole to fill following the departure of Jake Long, but Ireland made no significant move to upgrade the position. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was sacked 58 times (10 more than any other player in the league) and the Dolphins finished 26th in the league in rushing yards.

Ireland also signed Mike Wallace to a lavish $60 million contract, a deal that many speculated was over the top. Wallace never really established a strong connection with Tannehill, finishing with less than 1,000 yards receiving and only five touchdowns.

Dynamic running back Reggie Bush was allowed to depart over the offseason. Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas were largely unable to fill the void and Miami ended the season ranked 26th in rushing offense. Meanwhile, Bush racked up his second career 1,000-yard season and scored seven touchdowns in Detroit.

Ireland was hired in 2008 to take over a team that had gone 1-15 the year before, and quickly turned them into an 11-5 team with new head coach Tony Sparano and the wildcat offense. However, things quickly soured and the Dolphins haven't finished with a winning record since. They also haven't won a playoff game since 2000 and haven't made the conference title game since 1992.