Update: Dolphins agree to deal with Jeff Ireland...To leave immediately

[kbman]

Well I guess now we know. I'm sure Jerry has a plan.

 

[Chief]

Ireland hired as Dolphins' new general manager

By TIM GRAHAM and EDGAR THOMPSON

Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

DAVIE — The Dolphins hired Jeff Ireland to be their next general manager this afternoon.

The former Dallas Cowboys vice president of college and pro scouting has been reunited with Bill Parcells, the Dolphins' new executive vice president of football operations, who resigned as head coach of the Cowboys last January.

"I am excited about joining the Dolphins as their general manager," Ireland said in a statement released by the club. "I know the great tradition of the team, and in my mind they are one of the flagship franchises of the NFL."

Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga flew in via helicopter to the team's training facility this afternoon to meet with Ireland and finalize the deal. Huizenga stayed for about two hours before leaving at about 2:20 p.m.

There was no word on what the Dolphins will do with Cam Cameron, who is coming off a 1-15 season in his first year as an NFL head coach. An NFL source said Ireland already is working on determining a course of action for the coaching staff.

Ireland will replace Randy Mueller, who was fired Monday along with two assistants.

Ireland is given considerable credit for helping turn around the Cowboys, who went 5-11 three straight years before Parcells arrived. The Cowboys made the playoffs last year and won the NFC East this year.

Ireland has been with the Cowboys through three fruitful drafts. Of the 53 players on the Cowboys roster, 38 of them - and 12 of their 22 starters - were acquired over the past three years.

"I consider the work I did with Bill outstanding years," Ireland told The Palm Beach Post on Monday. "We communicate well together and work well together. I think it would work out well for me, and I'm confident it would work out well for the Dolphins." Ireland has long dreamed of running his own NFL team. It's in his blood.

He's the stepson of College Football Hall of Famer E.J. Holub, who played center and linebacker for the Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s, and the grandson of the late Jim Parmer, a former player and a personnel executive who helped to build the Chicago Bears' 1985 championship team.

Ireland broke into the NFL as an area scout for the NFL Scouting Combine and then the Chiefs from 1997 to 2000. He joined the Cowboys as a national scout in 2001.

"No doubt, this was my ambition," Ireland said Monday. "I learned what this job entails at a very young age. I grew up in it. This type of job was something I always aspired to."

 

[bbgun]

Happy for him; sad for us. If only Bill had stayed retired ...

 

[31smackdown]

Questions...

1) Is there any precedent for compensation?
2) If this is to take effect immediately or right after the super bowl, what is the effect on the in house scouting and draft preparation? Is this is someway proprietary information that he would now have or is it early enough in the process not to effect that talent evaluation?
3) Does Dallas do it's own scouting or do they use the scouting service that the majority of the NFL uses?

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Interesting. I thought Jeff Ireland was being groomed to be Lacewell's replacement prior to Bill even coming here, considering LL is pretty damn old. Is that why LL brought him in here, to simply be a road scout? And he, within a matter of minutes, just vaulted to VP of Scouting, because LL got angry at BP, and stormed ouf of the office? It makes plenty of sense in the soap opera world....

Found this 2005 story with a Google off some board. No link, but I'm sure it would be easy to find the original story.

As a kid, Jeff Ireland often sat in a dark room with his grandfather, staring at images of football players projected on a wall. Former NFL running back-turned-scout Jim Parmer spent countless hours explaining what they were watching and shared some insights on how to tell the good ones from the great ones.

Ireland is 34 now, and he's been getting paid to make those evaluations for more than a decade. Next weekend, he'll be in the Dallas Cowboys' draft room, sharing his thoughts with Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells while carrying the title of vice president of college and pro scouting.

Ireland was being groomed for the job practically since joining the organization four years ago. The promotion was so widely understood since predecessor Larry Lacewell retired in January that Jones called the formal announcement Thursday "probably the worst-kept secret in the organization."

"It's no accident that Jeff has the best part of his career ahead of him in terms of his age and his experience," Jones said. "It's very important to me and this organization that we select someone that we could look to work with for a long time. His skills in evaluating football players is beyond any question as far as I'm concerned."

Ireland has been around football most of his life, spending most of his adolescent summers as a ball boy during training camp for the Chicago Bears, the team Parmer scouted for. His stepfather is E.J. Holub, a former star at Texas Tech with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I've got a football family," Ireland said. "What I know is football."

Ireland was a kicker for Baylor, then spent two years as the special teams coach at North Texas before getting into scouting with the NFL combine from 1994-96. That led to four seasons as an area scout for the Chiefs, the Cowboys hired him in 2001 to be a national scout.

Lacewell was the one who lured Ireland to the organization, telling Jones he was "someone who could someday run this whole show." Jones and Parcells -- who arrived in 2003, about the time Lacewell began planning his retirement -- grew comfortable enough with him to share Lacewell's opinion.

 

[DasTex]

Good for Jeff, good hire for the phins, and bad for us. I'm guessing we're not getting any comp. for the hire?

 

[Bach]

This bothers me because Parcells came to lay a foundation for the Cowboys...but now he is ripping it out? I dunno, i don’t understand it all and i guess if nobody else is bothered by it then i shouldn’t.

Why would anyone here be bothered?

Most on here seem to think Jerry is a personnel genius :laugh2:

 

[CATCH17]

Our secret weapon is gone.

Good thing we landed a star QB in the meantime.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

"I consider the work I did with Bill outstanding years," Ireland told The Palm Beach Post on Monday. "We communicate well together and work well together. I think it would work out well for me, and I'm confident it would work out well for the Dolphins." Ireland has long dreamed of running his own NFL team. It's in his blood.

Funny, everybody in the entire orgainization hated Parcells.

 

[Hostile]

I'm pleased for Jeff Ireland. He deserves it.

We'll be all right. Not a doubt in my mind.

 

[khiladi]

"I consider the work I did with Bill outstanding years," Ireland told The Palm Beach Post on Monday. "We communicate well together and work well together. I think it would work out well for me, and I'm confident it would work out well for the Dolphins." Ireland has long dreamed of running his own NFL team. It's in his blood.

Funny, everybody in the entire orgainization hated Parcells.

Funny how somebody would expect JI to say how much his boss sucks on the first day of the job...

 

[dmq]

Honestly, I think we had good scouting in place back when we drafted bad. I believe Jerry just sometimes drafted who he wanted and didn't listen to the scouts. Sort of like the Quincy pick.

 

[TVMan]

I'm pleased for Jeff Ireland. He deserves it.

We'll be all right. Not a doubt in my mind.

Yes sir, we will.

 

[TVMan]

Our secret weapon is gone.

Good thing we landed a star QB in the meantime.

Ireland isn't the one who discovered Romo.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

Funny how somebody would expect JI to say how much his boss sucks on the first day of the job...

Then he wouldn't have left. He's very good at what he does, there would have been other opportunities.

 

[superpunk]

Then he wouldn't have left. He's very good at what he does, there would have been other opportunities.

That's a stretch. Ireland is getting a better job, more authority, and probably more money. I think it's pretty tough to go from that to "He and Jerry were on the outs".

 

[khiladi]

Then he wouldn't have left. He's very good at what he does, there would have been other opportunities.

Why? He is going to be General Manager. And legally, the move can't be just a name change. He has all the authority he needs, and he will be with a premiere franchise, in a premiere location. He will be living in Miami. With all due respect to Dallas, Dallas is definitely no Miami, especially for a guy in his late 30s.

I'm sure he would have taken the job even if Parcells wasn't there. It is a promotion, the guy has control. Anybody in their right mind would take it, especially if being a GM was their dream job.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

That's a stretch. Ireland is getting a better job, more authority, and probably more money. I think it's pretty tough to go from that to "He and Jerry were on the outs".

Huh? I never said he and Jerry were on the outs.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Honestly, I think we had good scouting in place back when we drafted bad. I believe Jerry just sometimes drafted who he wanted and didn't listen to the scouts. Sort of like the Quincy pick.

I would buy that, except for the fact that we didn't draft a single contributor as a Day 2 pick or undrafted free agent in ten years. Jerry probably had a big hand in selecting the high profile picks like Quincy .. but Day 2 picks and undrafted free agents are where the scouting leg work shines.

 

[superpunk]

Huh? I never said he and Jerry were on the outs.

I misread the two posts. I thought khiladi was referencing Jerry when he said "his new boss". Somehow I missed the whole "new" and "first day on the job" parts. Disregard my previous post.

Hey - how great would it have been if Lacewell gave Ireland "his eyes" as he was being groomed for replacement? Good times....