Patriots Personnel Director NicK Caserio Turns Down Dolphins Job http://tinyurl.com/osqdkkh

Update:

Ian Rapoport reports that Patriots director of pro personnel Nick Caserio has turned down the Dolphins offer to be their next general manager.

• Rapoport adds that several people within the Patriots believed he was leaving for the Dolphins.

This is situation went from potentially being a big get for the Miami Dolphins and owner Stephen Ross to an embarrassing failure.

Armando Salguero mentions that the Dolphins have been turned down four times just for interviews from GM candidates throughout this process. Another candidates declined a second interview and now another candidate denied the job.

Dolphins fans deserve better than this.

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Dianna Marie Russini of NBC Washington reports that the Miami Dolphins have offered their GM position to Patriots director of pro personnel Nick Caserio.

• Russini adds that “nothing has been finalized,” but they should know more in the next 24 hours.

It’s interesting that this is a reporter from Washington putting this information out there, but it’s worth noting that Russini is citing a “Miami source.”

Caserio was a bit of a surprise candidate given that he didn’t interview for the job until much later in the process. There was some question as to whether or not he was actually interested in the Dolphins job, but the fact that he’s already interviewed for a second time implies that he is willing to leave a good situation in New England.

The Dolphins have come under some scrutiny for how they’ve handled their GM search, but if they were to land a respected personnel executive like Caserio, it would be a huge get for owner Stephen Ross.

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Ian Rapoport reports that the Dolphins are down for four finalists for the vacant GM position.

According to Rapoport, the finalists include:

• Patriots director of pro personnel Nick Caserio
• Dolphins assistant GM Brian Gaine
• Titans executive Lake Dawson
• Buccaneers director of player personnel Dennis Hickey

The Dolphins announced that Nick Caserio, Lake Dawson and Dennis Hickey all completed their second interviews on Saturday.

Some have mentioned that a final decision could be made at some point this weekend before teams begin to ramp up their focus on the NFL draft process.

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Tom Curran reports that Patriots director of pro personnel Nick Caserio will have a second interview for the Dolphins GM position on Saturday.

Miami gave their current assistant GM Brian Gaine a second interview on Thursday.

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Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins “remain in conversations” with Buccaneers director of player personnel Dennis Hickey regarding their general manager vacancy.

• ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Dolphins have added Patriots director of pro personnel Nick Caserio to the list of candidates for their GM position.
  • Schefter adds that Caserio will interview with the team Friday.
  • Albert Breer mentions that Caserio has turned down GM interview inquiries in the past and many assumed he’d be tough to pry from the Pats.
• Jason La Canfora reports that Titans executive Lake Dawson is scheduled meet with the Dolphins again on Saturday. (Update: 2:44 pm)

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Jason La Canfora reports that Browns executive Ray Farmer will not interview for a second time for the Miami Dolphins GM position.

• La Canfora adds that Farmer has opted to stay with Cleveland.
• La Canfora believes the Dolphins should promote assistant GM Brian Gaine because he is “more than deserving of the opportunity.“

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Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that Lions executive Brian Xanders is no longer a candidate for the Dolphins GM position.

• Klis adds that the finalists for the job include Browns executive Ray Farmer, Dolphins assistant GM Brian Gaine and Buccaneers executive Dennis Hickey. 
• Farmer remains the favorite for the job, according to Klis.

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Jason La Canfora reports that Browns executive Ray Farmer remains a frontrunner for the Dolphins GM job.

• La Canfora adds that Buccaneers executive Dennis Hickey had a “very strong” interview.
• Lake Dawson (TEN), Omar Khan (PIT) and Brian Xanders (DET) are not finalists for the job, according to La Canfora. 
• Dolphins assistant GM Brian Gaine remains an internal option at his point in time. 

We’ll have more updates as the news is available.

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Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins will interview at least two finalists for their GM vacancy this weekend.

• Salguero mentions that there is some optimism that the Dolphins could have a general manager in place by early next week.
• Miami is reportedly making calls to candidates who have already interviewed the job to line up another round of meetings.
• A source also refuted a report from earlier in the day that suggested that the Dolphins reached out to Jason Licht in an attempt to prevent him from signing with the Buccaneers.

The Dolphins have already interviewed:

• Ray Farmer (CLE)
• Lake Dawson (TEN)
• Omar Khan (PIT)
• Dennis Hickey (TB)
• Brian Xanders (DET)
• Brian Gaine (MIA)

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Ian Rapoport reports that the Miami Dolphins made a last minute attempt to sign former Cardinals executive Jason Licht to be their new general manager once news broke that he had reached an agreement with the Buccaneers.

Miami wasn’t able to persuade Licht to reconsider his decision and the Buccaneers have already made an official announcement, so the Dolphins GM search will continue.

Recent reports indicated that there some questions regarding the Dolphins overall strategy towards finding their next GM. They’ve left candidates in the dark for a few days now and appear to be taking their time. Meanwhile, important offseason events like the East/West Shrine game and the Senior Bowl are taking place and they don’t even a general manager in place,

It’s worth noting that assistant GM Brian Gaine has been handling scouting in recent days.

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Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports that the Buccaneers have reached an agreement with Cardinals executive Jason Licht to be their new general manager.

• Jason La Canfora reports that the Dolphins were “very high” on Licht regarding this GM position.
• La Canfora adds that candidates for the Dolphins GM job remain “pretty much in the dark.“

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Falcons director of player personnel Lionel Vital told D. Orlando Ledbetter that intends to remain with the team after it became clear that he wasn’t getting the Buccaneers job.

Vital had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Dolphins GM position as well.

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Jason La Canfora reports that the Miami Dolphins interviewed Buccaneers executive Dennis Hickey for their GM job on Friday.

• Lan Canfora adds that the Dolphins decision to interview Hickey has left “a few football people scratching their heads.”

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• Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that the Dolphins have informed GM candidates that they plan on bringing two or three of them back for a second round of interviews before deciding on who will get the job. (Update: 6:20 pm)
• Jason La Canfora reports that Lions senior personnel director Brian Xanders’ interview with the Dolphins regarding their general manager vacancy was moved to Wednesday.

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ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the Dolphins will interview Lions senior personnel director Brian Xanders for their general manager vacancy.

• Armando Salguero mentions that Patriots HC Bill Belichick has offered a “big recommendation” for Falcons director of player personnel Lionel Vital, who is a candidate for the Dolphins GM job as well.
• Albert Breer doesn’t expect Eagles executive Tom Gamble to leave his situation in Philadelphia to join the Dolphins front office.
  • Breer, instead, sees Gamble waiting for a different opportunity at some point in the next few years.

Other candidates include: assistant GM Brian Gaine, Arizona’s Jason Licht, Pittsburgh’s Omar Khan, and Tennessee’s Lake Dawson, Eagles’ Tom Gamble, and Giants exec. Marc Ross.

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Jeff Darlington reports that the talk of Browns executive Ray Farmer being the favorite for the Dolphins GM position could be a little overblown.

• A source close to the Dolphins search mentioned that characterizing anyone as a “favorite” at this point would be a little premature.
• Darlington adds that the Dolphins intend to meet with more candidates despite interview five already.
• The Dolphins may not have a final decision until a week from now as they don’t feel any pressure to get something done right away.

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According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, “barring a major surprise,” Browns executive Ray Farmer is expected to be one of the finalists for the Dolphins GM vacancy.

• Farmer has reportedly been “the most impressive” candidate to interview for the job, according to Salguero’s sources.
• Salguero adds that the Dolphins are expected to decide on a pair of finalists to bring in for a second round of interviews at some point in the near future.

So far, Miami has met with assistant GM Brian Gaine, Arizona’s Jason Licht, Pittsburgh’s Omar Khan, and Tennessee’s Lake Dawson. Interviews with Eagles’ Tom Gamble, Falcons’ Lionel Vital and Giants exec. Marc Ross are expected to take place at some point this week.

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Armando Salguero reports that the Dolphins interviewed Titans’ VP of operations Lake Dawson for their GM position on Sunday.

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Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that questions about the direction of the Dolphins are impacting their GM search.

• According to La Canfora, candidates are unclear if HC Joe Philbin would report directly to them or owner Stephen Ross given that the two of them are closely aligned.
• La Canfora adds that candidates have concerns that replacing Philbin after the season could get “complicated” due to their relationship.
• La Canfora mentions that the Dolphins will have tough time luring candidates from stable organizations such as: Steelers exec. Omar Khan, Giants exec. Marc Ross and Eagles exec. Tom Gamble.

The Dolphins have already interviewed Khan, Brian Gaine, Sam Farmer, and Jason Licht for the job and intend to meet with Lake Dawson, Lionel Vital and Ross at some point next week.

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The Miami Dolphins announced that they have interviewed Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer on Saturday.

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Adam Caplan reports that the Dolphins have requested permission to speak with Eagles VP of player personnel Tom Gamble regarding their GM position.

• Ian Rapoport reports that Steelers executive Omar Khan and Cardinals executive Jason Licht are both headed to Miami today for interviews with Dolphins.
• Redskins GM Bruce Allen told Chris Russell of ESPN 980 that former Chargers GM A.J. Smith is being considered for an unspecified GM position, which could be either the Buccaneers or Dolphins. (Update: 1:54 pm)
• Adam Beasley reports that Dolphins assistant GM Brian Gaine met with owner Stephen Ross for three hours.  (Update: 4:24 pm)
  • The meeting reportedly went “very well.”

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Armando Salgeuro of the Miami Herald reports that sources have informed him that Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer is the “leading candidate” for the Dolphins GM position.

According to Salguero, Chiefs President Carl Peterson, who is aiding the Dolphins GM search, is a big supporter of Farmer and is “supremely confident” in his own ability to identify great GM candidates.

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Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins are targeting Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta for their vacant GM position.

• Matt Zentiz reports that the Dolphins have not contacted the DeCosta and even if they were to, DeCosta has no interest in leaving the Ravens.

DeCosta is a well respected NFL executive who has been linked to numerous GM openings in recent years, but he has elected to remain with the Ravens, despite the interest from NFL teams.

If the Dolphins were able to convince him to leave Baltimore it would be a huge addition to their front office. It’s just hard to put a lot of stock in him departing for the Dolphins job when there have been other positions that appeared to be more stable available to him.

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Jason Cole reports that NFL sources mentioned that they would not advise anyone to accept the Dolphins GM position because the “power structure is set up to fail.”

• ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Dolphins will also interview Titans VP Lake Dawson for their vacant GM position.
• Schefter adds that Packers executive Alonzo Highsmith is also being considered for the position as well.
• Jason La Canfora reports that Dolphins have requested permission to speak with Ray Farmer (CLE), Lional Vital (ATL), and Omar Khan (PIT) regarding their GM vacancy. (Update: 3:52 pm)
• Albert Breer reports that Cardinals vice president of player personnel Jason Licht will interview for the Dolphins GM position. (Update: 4:09 pm)
• Jay Glazer reports that the Dolphins have been denied permission to interview Saints personnel director Ryan Pace for their GM vacancy. (Update: 6:28 pm)

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reportedly wants to hire someone to oversee the operation while retaining assistant GM Brian Gaine and V.P. of football administration Dawn Aponte.

GM jobs are hard to come by, but walking into a situation where the deck may be stacked against could end up being your one and only shot at running an NFL team. We’ll have to see if this ends up impacting the Dolphins GM search.

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Jason Cole of the National Football Post reports that Eagles director of player personnel Tom Gamble is the “top candidate” for the Dolphins GM position now that they’ve parted ways with Jeff Ireland.

• Cole lists that Packers senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith, director of pro personnel Eliot Wolf, Steelers Omar Khan and former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli as other candidates.
• The Dolphins are expected to keep V.P. of football administration Dawn Aponte and assistant GM Brian Gaine in place with their respective positions and hire someone to oversee the operation.

Gamble was previously with the 49ers as their director of player personnel before returning to Philadelphia last season. According to Cole, the fact that Gamble does not have full control over the team’s personnel decisions could leave him open to new opportunities.