By CARL KOTALA
Florida Today

DAVIE, Fla. - All news surrounding the Miami Dolphins for the past two weeks has been about their search for a general manager.

But when owner Wayne Huizenga stepped to the podium Monday, Rick Spielman may as well have been Barney Fife or Barney Rubble.

Because Monday was all about Dan Marino.

Batman. Superman. Dan The Man was both of them rolled into one when it comes to Miami Dolphin legends.

And now he's back.

In a stunning announcement that came after the Dolphins interviewed seven general manager candidates in 10 days, Marino will take over as the team's vice president of football operations while Spielman has been promoted to general manager.

As a frizzy-haired kid with a gun-slinger's arm, Marino owned 25 NFL passing records and shared five others when he retired in 1999 following a 17-year career. Now, it's his job to lead the team to the one prize he could never obtain.

"My love for this organization, my love for football, I think that's unquestioned," Marino said. "There are some people in this organization that have won Super Bowl rings. Let me tell you, I've thought about that a lot. Maybe this is the way I can get that opportunity."

Under the team's new power structure, Marino will be responsible for the team's football operations and will report to team president Eddie Jones. Spielman and head coach Dave Wannstedt will report to Marino.

The team is still interested in hiring former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf as a consultant, but has yet to hear back from him.

Wannstedt, who received a two-year contract extension on Dec. 29, was stripped of control over personnel decisions after the team went 10-6 and missed the playoffs for the second season in a row. Spielman will assume the primary responsibility for all player personnel decisions, including free agency, the draft and the makeup of the team's 53-man roster.

Marino will assume his duties following Super Bowl XXXVIII, when the future Hall of Famer wraps up his work as an NFL analyst for HBO and CBS.

Huizenga said he and his former star had been kicking around the idea of Marino joining the organization in some capacity for the past four years during frequent golf outings. After settling on Spielman as the general manager, Huizenga said he decided he needed to add another "football guy" to its operation and that's when he created the title Marino will hold.

Although his qualifications as a player were impeccable, Marino's lack of front-office experience means his hiring is no slam dunk for Miami other than from a public relations standpoint. The question is, will he turn out to be like Isiah Thomas with the New York Knicks, or Matt Millen of the Detroit Lions?

Thomas has made New York a big-time player in the NBA again since taking over recently. Millen has made a string of bad decisions and the Lions have yet to win a road game since he became their president.

"As long as he doesn't do it like Matt Millen did it, then there's a chance this thing can work," ESPN analyst John Clayton said. "The key is, he's not schooled in scouting. Obviously, he's schooled in knowing football, studying film and all those different things. But if he comes in and tries to do the things that he's not been trained to do yet, early, then it would be a disaster.

"It would be like Matt Millen in Detroit. As long as he doesn't try to micro-manage and just kind of be like a CEO type, it probably can work."

Two things to watch for right off the bat will be how the team decides to handle its quarterback situation and how Marino and Wannstedt interact.

Marino retired, reluctantly, two months after Wannstedt was named head coach in January of 2000. Jay Fiedler, who has been unpopular in South Florida ever since taking over at quarterback for Marino four years ago, is due to get a raise from $750,000 to $3.7 million in 2004 and is also up for a $2 million option in April that would kick in his 2006 salary of $6.5 million.

Those decisions will be made with plenty of input from Spielman, who is credited with revamping the team's scouting department since his arrival in 2000.

The team also met with Tampa Bay director of player personnel Tim Ruskell, former Seattle and New Orleans general manager Randy Mueller, Baltimore director of player personnel Phil Savage, Hall of Fame wide receiver and former Dolphin Paul Warfield, New York Giants personnel man Jerry Reese and Seattle's vice president of football operations, Ted Thompson.

By hiring Spielman, the Dolphins were opening themselves up to criticism from an already angry fan base because it could be easily argued that all Miami did was shuffle titles. That criticism is sure to be overshadowed by Marino's hiring, although as Clayton pointed out, Spielman is as qualified for the job as anyone the Dolphins brought in.

"The candidates we interviewed were just outstanding. Everyone (who) came in, we were impressed with," Huizenga said. "But also along the way we interviewed and met with Rick three different times. And during the interview time, we finally came to the conclusion that the person we have in-house is as good as, or better than, the people we were talking to.

"While I know it may not be the popular decision to make, I am convinced 1,000 percent that it's the right decision for the Miami Dolphins."

Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, who drafted Marino in 1983, lauded the team's decision in making both moves.

"I'm happy that Wayne stayed within the Dolphin family in improving the organization," Shula said. "I believe that Dan will do a great job as Senior Vice President of Football Operations. He has proven that he is a true leader. Giving Rick Spielman additional responsibilities will work well with his expertise in the personnel department.

"I believe that these changes will secure a much stronger team in the future and will solidify the winning tradition of the Miami Dolphins."

The Dolphins have won just one playoff game since Marino retired. His statue stands in front of the entrance to Pro Player Stadium and the team's ticket office is located at 2269 Dan Marino Blvd.

And the only thing that would have gone over bigger than Monday's announcement is if the team were to announce that Marino's coming back as a player.

"It's been a dream of mine to get back into football," Marino said. "Television is great. It's fun to do and my time at HBO and CBS, it was great. But at the end of the day, I'm a football guy. I loved competition when I was a player. I love everything about this place.

"To me, I'm back home again. I made the decision because in my heart, I love the game of football. I want to do whatever I can and whatever is necessary for me to do to help this team in any way I can, to be back where we need to be. That is to win a championship, which I never won."

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