The Miami Dolphins and general manager Jeff Ireland have mutually agreed to severe ties, ESPN reports.
In an announcement made late Tuesday, team officials said Ireland would not be returning after six seasons, five of them ending with a non-winning record.
Even with having spent $200 million in free agency, this season’s Dolphins team finished at 8-8 and was dogged by off-the-field controversy.
The Dolphins remain the subject of a league-approved investigation looking into the issue of locker room bullying after second-year lineman Jonathan Martin left the team midseason amid claims he was endlessly being hazed by fellow lineman Richie Incognito and perhaps even other teammates.
“I want to personally thank Jeff for his hard work and dedication in building the team over the past six years,” owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. “After a series of discussions, we both felt that it was in our mutual best interest to part ways. Jeff was a loyal and dedicated member of the Dolphins and we wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
Several other media outlets have reported Ireland was on the verge of being stripped of his GM powers and that reality greatly figured into the two parties bottom-line decision.
Vice president of football administration Dawn Aponte will serve in Ireland’s post on an interim basis and the team insists it plans to conduct an “immediate search” for a replacement.
Ireland took over in Miami in 2008 and, after a dreadful 1-15 season, helped stabilize the organization to the point of an 11-5 finish a year later. But after that, the Dolphins missed the playoffs five straight seasons and Ireland increasingly became an unpopular figure among the Miami fan base.
After starting this season at 3-0, the Dolphins struggled to a 5-8 finish, including back-to-back season ending losses that ended all hopes of a playoff berth.
Ireland’s parting comes one day after the team dismissed offensive coordinator Mike Sherman. Once embattled coach Joe Philbin is expected to survive the purge.
