So it's impossible for Aponte and Ireland to have an agreement on what a player should be offered ? If player is not signed, it's not because Aponte won't buckle...it's because Jeff, who is responsible for personnel has decided that what the guy is asking is too much.... What evidence ??
Hard Knocks, when Aponte told Ireland that if Tannehill didn't agree to the language, he'd re-enter the draft. She didn't ask or consult Ireland, she told him. Both need to be on board. Without both, its not going to work. Ireland makes his assessment based solely on football, Aponte solely on finances, legal, and accounting. All the boxes need to be checked. Look at all the big contracts we gave out this offseason. They all have out-clauses after two seasons. If Mike Wallace didn't agree to that out-clause, do you think he would have been signed? Even though Ireland identified him as a player he wanted, that doesn't mean that is a player he could get. Obviously if there is a case where they strongly disagree, they can appeal to the owner, who ultimately has the final word.
I'd say Jeff Ireland has Stephen Ross's ear. And if the Tannehill holdout went any longer than a week, he would've been in Ross's ear convincing him to relinquish power from Aponte, which I'm pretty sure would have happened at that point. Jeff Ireland and Stephen Ross were in no way, shape, or form going to allow Ryan Tannehill to re-enter the 2013 draft over off-set language. On so many many different levels this would not have been allowed. Believe what you want from that Hard Knocks scene. It would have never played out that way.
I agree 100% with this. My only point here is that Jeff Ireland couldn't make that decision on his own, and that is right thing IMO.
Using a few seconds of Hard Knocks footage as full evidence to the inner workings of the team seems pretty flimsy to me.
Those are your assumptions, Stringer...Not any kind of fact...Sure, I saw the HKs episode...that in no way indicates that Aponte doesn't report to Ireland...Maybe I'm wrong, but if I'm Jeff, or any other GM in charge of football personnel, how can I be held responsible for players if the capologist is suddenly allowed to make personnel decisions, like letting a draftee re-enter the draft if he doesn't agree to her terms. As the owner, Ross doesn't seem the type to have Aponte in one corner of his office battling it out with Ireland in the other corner...they are not equals... You're right about Wallace, he wouldn't be here if he hadn't agreed on the contract, that wasn't because Aponte told Ireland "it's my way or the highway with this guy". I think you are reading way to much into something from an episode of HKs that somehow Aponte doesn't report to Jeff... Tell me any other team where the capologist or the person in charge of negotiating contracts doesn't report to the GM ?? I also believe it's been reported in various media outlets in the past, that Jeff has autonomy on personnel. That includes contracts...I'm sorry, I can't see your point on this...it just doesn't make sense... And yes, I know they have to work together to sign the guys, it's an over-exaggeration to say that Ireland can sign anyone he wants at any cost, but there has to be a final decision maker and that has been Jeffy all along.... I mean, think of it...I can hear the tell-all book now from Jeffy after he's fired..."Well, in 20xx I wanted to sign such and such but Aponte wouldn't let me ??" I don't think so... That would be sure-fire disfunctionality at it's best...
I'm sure if the situation were that dire, that there would be a pow-wow with Ross, where Jeff says "we're letting him go back to the draft because he's asking something financially we can't live with or it simply won't fit into our budget." At that point, Ross has to adjust the budget or agree with his people...
The same way executives in every major business are held responsible, despite having limitations on their power. The person designing the Corvette is responsible for the design, but that doesn't mean they decide how much they get to spend on it. And again, Aponte is not making personnel decisions. She is making financial, accounting, and legal decisions. Decisions that Ireland has no business making, because he simply is not qualified. No, the final decision maker is the guy that is worth $4B, and owns the Miami Dolphins. He is the guy that is qualified to oversee Mike Dee, Dawn Aponte, Jeff Ireland, etc. He is the guy that understands both opposing forces. Thats not dysfunctional, thats how businesses operate. Executives don't create their own budgets. Jeff Ireland shouldn't be responsible for the businesses' cash flows. Could you imagine Jeff Ireland taking credit for macroeconimc clawbacks made by the owners? He probably couldn't even model out the effects that the offset language will have. He has 0 motivation to include offset language in Tannehill's or Jordan's contract. What benefit does it provide him? What is his motivation to include the language? And yes, Jeff Ireland most likely wanted to sign players that he hasn't been able to. Look how far under the cap Miami has consistently been. He does not control his budget.
Not just the footage. The holdout itself. Jeff Ireland has no reason to press for offset language. He was negatively impacted by the holdout. Why would he allow it???
You know the scenes in the Kardashian show* where Kim tries to talk about world issues and politics? Yeah, that's Dawn Aponte acting tough with Tannehill. Was never going to happen. *I've never seen or would ever see a Kardashian show, but saw a clip of it on the Soup.
I don't think it's preposterous to say that Ireland works under the parameters of a budget and long term cap projection that Aponte drew up, and I don't think it's possible that Ireland's hands were tied to the point where she determines whether or not he goes back n the draft...What I do think is possible is he threw her a bone to set an example...
True enough, but you implied that Aponte, by being an equal, can reject signing a guy...that's not the case. Ireland has autonomy on that and Aponte, falls under his umbrella...It just makes sense.. Aponte IS making personnel decisions if she tells Jeff, "you can't have this guy because he won't sign for what I want him to", as you thought she did on HKs. Ross is not sitting in his office and refereeing arguments between Aponte and Ireland. Ireland sets that budget with Ross (his boss), and he's responsible for how he spends it... Aponte is his field general that keeps him informed of where that budget is at, not his equal... His motivation to include that language, just like any negotiation is that his finance gal is telling him this is the best way to go. Dawn wasn't saying anything on HKs that they hadn't discussed before filming. I fully understand how business works. Jeff understands the ins and outs of the cap, just as well as any GM does, and has a person who keeps that part of the business controlled, who is the 'expert'. They work together, but someone has the authority to ok the contract before it's signed...I don't think that Aponte is that person...Jeff is...
Jeff Ireland has no business setting the budget. He has no qualifications to do so. Dawn Aponte is 100000X more qualified than Jeff Ireland to do that. This is coming from the biggest Jeff Ireland supporter on this forum.
This really shouldn't be as controversial of a topic as it is. We can look at the descriptions of their roles, as stated by the organization: Jeff Ireland: http://www.miamidolphins.com/team/staff/jeff-ireland/df426617-fbb9-487e-90b4-3eb1e55f5569 Dawn Aponte: http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/a...d-Herman/fa867057-fc7c-4a9c-afd1-8b60415514bb Ireland is listed as "helping" with salary cap and player contracts. Aponte is listed as responsible for the salary cap, and more importantly the "chief contract negotiator". I think it is pretty clear who is responsible for what.
but that still doesn't mean she doesn't report to Ireland. in the work environment that you like to refer to I know several instances where a person is "responsible" for a function but yet still report to another that "helps". Ireland is responsible for it all, Aponte is responsible for one part of it.
