What Dolphins hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM means for John Harbaugh pursuit

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What Dolphins hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM means for John Harbaugh pursuit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Miami Dolphins have hired Jon-Eric Sullivan as their next general manager, but does that mean they are out of the running for John Harbaugh?

Sullivan comes over from the Green Bay Packers, most recently serving as the vice president of player personnel. He has spent his entire career with the Packers.

Knowing that, there's no known connection with Sullivan and Harbaugh, and we know how important connections are in the NFL.

Had the Packers opted for another finalist, Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander, who did have a connection with Harbaugh, we would have been more optimistic about Miami's chances of landing the coveted coach.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero mentioned four possible candidates for the Dolphins after hiring Sullivan, and Harbaugh was not one of them. As expected, all four had connections to Sullivan via the Packers.

"The Dolphins will begin work on their head coaching search immediately," he said. "Among the potential candidates with ties to Jon-Eric Sullivan via Green Bay: Mike McCarthy, Jeff Hafley, Adam Stenavich and Anthony Campanile."

Another blow to the Dolphins' hopes of landing Harbaugh comes from ESPN's Jeff Darlington, who noted that while Miami is indeed interested in the now-former Baltimore Ravens head coach, the team is not "fixated" on him.

"So how does this impact the potential hiring of John Harbaugh, you ask? The Dolphins remain interested, but I would not describe them as fixated," he said.

Meanwhile, ESPN's Jordan Raanan reports that Harbaugh definitely has interest in the New York Giants' job, mostly because of the presence of Jaxson Dart, and the Giants want Harbaugh "badly."

Truth be told, hiring Harbaugh was always going to be an uphill battle, as other teams like the Giants simply have more to offer him.

We would expect Miami to come away with someone other than Harbaugh once it's all said and done.