If you had any awareness of pop music in 1995, then you might remember this lyric: “And you wonder why, I’m such a baby, the Dolphins make me cry.”
The line is of course from Hootie & the Blowfish’s megahit, and Bob Dylan tribute song, “Only Wanna Be with You.” It references the on-field woes of the Miami Dolphins, the favorite team of Hootie’s lead singer, Darius Rucker.
If only he knew what was to come once the millenium turned, and things got even worse! The Phins’ conference championship game drought continues, dating all the way back to 1992 now. And they haven’t reached the Super Bowl since 1984. Dan Marino, the most famous Dolphins player of all-time, actually appeared in the music video for “Only Wanna Be with You.”
And these days, he acts as a consultant for the team.
He’s not the only Hall of Fame quarterback who has been helping the Miami front office. Troy Aikman has been working with them behind the scenes as well. However, he won’t be heavily involved in helping to shape the Dolphins’ draft this week, according to recently hired GM Jon-Eric Sullivan.
“[Troy Aikman] will not be consulted for picks; he may be in the draft room,” Sullivan told the media last week.
“I can’t say enough good things about Troy and, quite frankly, Dan [Marino], for that matter, as well. Dan has been here. Dan has been in the room. Dan has been a tremendous sounding board for us. We’ve had a lot of fun together. He’s fun, I love Dan.”
The Dolphins are one of six teams with two picks in the first round on Thursday. They are on the clock at #11 and again at #30. Marino, who held the NFL single season passing yardage record up until 2011, has been directly consulting Sullivan on a couple key position groups.
“[Marino] has been especially helpful for me with quarterbacks and receivers,” Sullivan added. “I don’t need to expound upon that; you guys can understand why there.
“And Troy has been a wonderful sounding board in his own right from afar. Troy will be part of the equation moving forward. What that looks like, we’ll see, but he’s been a great sounding board, and I’m glad he’s going to be part of the equation.”
The Dolphins are commencing a new era in 2026, not just with Sullivan (who replaced Chris Grier), but also with new head coach Jeff Hafley, who replaced Mike McDaniel. The Dolphins have only one playoff win and just a single division title since the year 2000, so re-establishing a culture of winning in Miami (like they once had in the 1960s and 1970s) is going to be a major challenge.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Dan Marino and Troy Aikman are Consultants for the Miami Dolphins