Dennis Hickey has two-year contract

ByJAMES WALKER
February 4, 2014, 1:29 PM

— -- MIAMI -- The Dolphins' roller-coaster search for a general manager ended last week when they hired Dennis Hickey. But it appears the team may have hedged its bet.

The Dolphins signed Hickey to a two-year contract, multiple sources have informed ESPN.com. The typical contract length for new general managers is three to five years. A team source told ESPN.com later Tuesday that Hickey's deal is for longer than two years, but would not disclose the specific length of the contract.

Hickey was not Miami's first choice. The Dolphins initially were turned down by Nick Caserio of the New England Patriots and Lake Dawson of the Tennessee Titans before offering the job to Hickey.

He didn't have much leverage because his role as director of player personnel was in question with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who recently hired Lovie Smith as coach and Jason Licht as general manager.

That Hickey's shortened contract is parallel to the two years remaining on coach Joe Philbin's deal could be telling.

Philbin, who is 15-17 in two seasons, is entering a crucial third year in Miami. The matching contracts would make it easier for Miami to hit the reset button if the team has another poor season in 2014. The Dolphins would just have to pay Philbin and Hickey for an additional year if they choose to start over in 2015.

Miami fired former GM Jeff Ireland in January after five consecutive non-winning seasons. Owner Stephen Ross also confirmed that Ireland butted heads behind the scenes with Philbin and vice president of football administration Dawn Aponte.

"We need to have harmony within the organization," Ross said last week. "We have to think as one organization, where everyone has respect for each other and operates with the same mindset at all times."