After a couple of confusing days, more is now known about the vacant General Manager position in Miami.
In a statement released Thursday night, owner Stephen Ross made it clear that the G.M. won’t be a so-called “G.M. Light.”
“The new General Manager will have autonomous responsibility for the 53 man roster and selecting players during the draft and will report to me,” Ross said. “First and foremost, this person must have a passion for the game and demonstrated player evaluation expertise. They will need to be a person who is a collaborative team player that puts the organization first. Regardless of reporting structure, the relationship between the General Manager and Coach Philbin must be one of trust, respect, and collaboration, and this will be an area we will look closely at during the process. This individual also must be a person with integrity who is open-minded and creative.”
Ross said that former Chiefs G.M. Carl Peterson will assist in the search process, but that after the job is filled Peterson will have no role in the organization.
“Carl and I have had a business relationship for almost 30 years dating back to the USFL and I have tremendous respect for his experience and judgment on team building and football operations,” Ross said. Ross reportedly had planned to hire a “football czar,” who would have overseen former G.M. Jeff Ireland and absorbed most if not all of Ireland’s powers. Ross has now decided to hire a G.M. with basically the same duties and authority that Ireland exercised.
The statement comes after the Fritz Pollard Alliance advised minority candidates to decline to interview for a job that didn’t entail power over the roster. The other vacant G.M. job in Tampa reportedly doesn’t entail power over the roster.