Jeff Ireland
Earlier this month, the Dolphins gave their head coach a contract extension in an attempt to reconcile their differences after a tumultuous couple of weeks. Going one step further in his efforts, owner Stephen Ross decided to reward his general manager as well.
According to ESPN, Miami has signed GM Jeff Ireland to a multi-year contract extension. Though the terms of the deal are still unknown, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel expects the deal to keep him signed through 2013.
Ireland, whose previous contract was set to expire after the 2011 season, spoke on his new-found extension.
“I appreciate the support of the entire Dolphin organization, from Steve Ross all the way down,” Ireland said in a statement, “and I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can with Steve, Tony Sparano, and the rest of the team to bring the Dolphins back to their long-time position as one of the elite teams in the NFL. We have a young and talented nucleus to build on, and as we continue to add quality players through all the means available to us, we will give our fans the type of team they deserve.”
Since coming over from the Dallas Cowboys in 2008, Ireland’s overseen a squad that’s posted 11-5, 7-9, and 7-9 records in the last three seasons. In Dallas, Ireland was in charge of their player personnel department; before holding that job, he worked his way up the ranks as a scout, which landed him his first gig as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs’ personnel department.
Now that the coach and GM are in place for the foreseeable future, the ‘Fins can look toward building a playoff contender. They need to decide who their quarterback of the future will be after Chad Henne had a disappointing season. It all starts at the top, though, so Ross has to make sure there are no more trust issues between the three. This was the first step in the right direction for the team’s sake.
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First step in the right direction, despite the fact that management has seemingly created a soap-opera type team over these past few years. The owner wants them to be the “Lakers of the NFL.”