If there was "ever any doubt about who was in charge" of the Dolphins, Owner Stephen Ross "summarily erased it" by specifically thanking VP/Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum during yesterday's press conference to introduce DT Ndamukong Suh, according to Adam Beasley of the MIAMI HERALD. While Dennis Hickey is "technically still" the team's GM, Tannenbaum is "without question Ross' most trusted lieutenant on the football side of the organization." It is an "impressive career resurrection for Tannenbaum, who a little more than two years ago was fired after a long -- and checkered -- career with the Jets" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/12). Suh signed a six-year, $114M deal with the Dolphins, and in West Palm Beach, Dave George writes the Dolphins are "3-for-3 in signing the big-name free agents they've chased lately." The Dolphins also added WR Mike Wallace in '14 and OT Branden Albert in '13, which is a "sure sign of Ross putting his money where his mouth is." Ross said, "I haven't hit a home run yet. We haven't won" (PALM BEACH POST, 3/12).
MAN OF MYSTERY: In Ft. Lauderdale, Chris Perkins notes the Dolphins "stressed one thing during Wednesday's news conference" introducing Suh, who "was once voted the NFL's Dirtiest Player by his peers: He's a good person as well as a good player." The Dolphins, "rocked by a bullying scandal in 2013, clearly believe in Suh, on and off the field," as his $59.9M in guaranteed money is the "most ever given to a defensive player in NFL history" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 3/12). But Perkins writes Suh's deal "will be re-visited" in the future, "maybe after the third or fourth season." It is "doubtful he’ll be with the Dolphins for multiple seasons with annual cap hits" of $20M or more (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 3/12). Ross said, "You have to look at him as a person who has accomplished a lot both on and off the field, and as a person who if he did something, and I'm not saying he did, he will learn by the mistakes. Certainly intelligent people do and I regard him as that." Suh said, "I feel like, to be honest, I've been misunderstood in a lot of ways" (PALM BEACH POST, 3/12).
SEE IT LIVE: The Dolphins live-streamed Suh’s entire news conference on Meerkat, a social media platform that alerts users about real-time video via Twitter. Meerkat co-Founder & CEO Ben Rubin said more than 1,000 users tuned in. It was the Dolphins’ first use of the platform and came one day after the Trail Blazers became the first sports team to live-stream a practice via Meerkat (Charlie Frankel, Staff Writer).
