Dolphins bringing in Troy Aikman as consultant to assist with general manager search

The Dolphins need a new GM after firing Chris Grier in October

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman is joining the Miami Dolphins as a consultant in their search for a new general manager, CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reports. While it's not a permanent role with the organization, Aikman will serve in an "advisory capacity" and assist in helping the franchise find a new leader for the team's front office. 

Aikman, 59, works as an analyst for ESPN's broadcast of "Monday Night Football." Aikman, who won three Super Bowls as the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, has worked as an NFL color analyst for nearly 25 years, and the Dolphins valued his league-wide insights, per Jones. 

Dan Marino will continue to have a role with the Dolphins and in this process. Aikman has been around all 32 teams for years and, with his production meeting background, has a wealth of experience in asking questions. He will be heavily involved in GM interviews.

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 1, 2026

The Dolphins fired GM Chris Grier in October after almost a decade as the team's top personnel man. The move to fire Grier came after a 2-7 start, but Miami owner Stephen Ross opted to keep coach Mike McDaniel. The Dolphins are 5-2 since and sit at 7-9 entering Sunday's season finale against the New England Patriots while dealing with an uncertain future at the quarterback position after the benching of Tua Tagovailoa.

Grier had been with the Dolphins since 2010 and became general manager in 2016. Champ Kelly has been serving as the team's interim GM since Grier's firing. McDaniel is in his fourth season as coach and holds a 35-32 record over that span. He led the Dolphins to the postseason in his first two seasons but will finish with consecutive losing seasons after going 8-9 last year. 

Aikman said during a recent appearance on the Sports Business Radio Podcast that a front-office role is something he could entertain down the road.

"Will it come along at some point? Maybe, I doubt it, but maybe," Aikman said last month. "As I've often said, if it doesn't…there will be a part of me that always wonders as to whether or not I could have done the job. I'd like to think I could and would be good at it. But unless you do it, it's just talk."

Aikman acknowledged the learning curve would be steep with a career move like that.

"I'm not opposed to hard work…it's not so much the hours that would be involved, it's more about at my age currently, there would be a learning curve," Aikman said. "Would an organization be willing to allow that to happen? It's a young man's game, it's a young man's world."