What makes me sick about last year's trio of Ireland-Philbin-Aponte was none of them seemed to have the best interest of the Miami Dolphins as their #1 priority. Their priorities were self-promotion, power grabs, backstabbing, etc., enough for a Shakespearean tragedy. I've worked for companies that had similarly toxic relationships and it is crushing. Thankfully Ireland is gone, but what happens the next time Aponte gets worried about the GM getting closer to Ross than she is? Will she try to turn Philbin and Ross against the new GM? This situation should have been blown up and it's ridiculous that Ross only got rid of part of the problem.
endorPHINS72 - I wouldn't believe everything that you read from Mando, who was clearly Ireland's channel to leak what he wanted leaked. While some on here are paranoid about Dawn Aponte, the reality is that she is very brilliant. Degrees in law, accounting, masters in finance, juris doctorate, member of the NY Bar, etc - she is the best of the best. She has also been successful in managing the Dolphin salary cap. I have no doubt that she is very tough to negotiate with. So don't rush to believe those that dismiss her as the bean counter. She was promoted to Executive VP Football Administration and reports directly to Ross. He's first and foremost a brilliant businessman and she negotiates every part of every player's contract with every player's agent.
It is also significant that she is apparently close to Head Coach, Joe Philbin, even going so far as personally attending every one of his press conferences. It has been remarked that they are clearly friends that respect each other and work well together. It's not a Shakespearean tragedy. Ross, Aponte and Philbin were all on the same page. It was only Ireland who was out of step. I sense that Ross genuinely recognized some of Ireland's talent, but after 6 years, it was time for a change, particularly with some matters associated with the Martin/Incognito disaster. We saw certain things leaked, but it was invariably from Ireland. I could be wrong, but I sense that Joe doesn't crave attention like some other coaches (cough, Rex Ryan, cough). He is an introvert focused on the result. It's probably not in his nature to want to leak anything. His discomfort about giving up any information at the press conferences is self evident. The person he most resembles at the press conferences is actually Bill Belichick. Who gives away name, rank and serial number, only because he has to.
Joe and Dawn don't crave the limelight - they hate it. The insecure person was Ireland because he was running out of time.
All we have to do is find a good GM who can work effectively with the other key leaders.
