After Tannenbaum helped sign Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Cameron -- and trade away the ornery Mike Wallace -- plenty wondered if general manager Dennis Hickey had been demoted into the shadows.
"All roster decisions rest with Dennis," Tannenbaum assured reporters during Friday's pre-draft press conference, per ESPN.com. Tannenbaum also emphasized that Hickey holds final say over Miami's six draft picks.
That aligns with what NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport noted in January, saying that while Hickey reports to Tannenbaum, he still runs the draft room and Miami's 53-man roster. Both Tannenbaum and coach Joe Philbin report to owner Stephen Ross.
"My role hasn't changed. I'm still evaluating. I'm still putting together a 53-man roster," Hickey said in January of pairing with Tannenbaum, per The Palm Beach Post. "We want to work together and build a winner. That's the directive from Mr. Ross. That's his passion and he's given us the resources."
Even if Hickey hasn't been marginalized, questions linger about Philbin. In March when the Dolphins rolled out a laundry list of team executives to introduce Suh, Philbin was stationed down in the crowd with the reporters.
The coach wasn't at the table on Friday, either. That's less unusual for a pre-draft media session, but Tannenbaum's presence in Miami only puts more pressure on Philbin -- and Hickey -- to win now or hit the bricks.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast conducts a redraft of the 2014 NFL Draft before chatting about this year's event with Daniel Jeremiah. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.