Everyone knew the Miami Dolphins would be looking for a new head coach next season. Joe Philbin was fired in Week 5, and interim head coach Dan Campbell is not expected to keep his current post after going 4-8 heading into Sunday's finale against the New England Patriots.

But there were at least a little reservation on whether the team would also part ways with general manager Dennis Hickey. He's only been at the helm two years, but the team decided that was enough to go in a different direction.

The Dolphins officially parted ways with Hickey on Saturday night, and will do a complete housecleaning in 2016.

The team has tried partial fixes the past several seasons and it simply hasn't worked.

Remember 2012? Miami fired head coach Tony Sparano and kept general manager Jeff Ireland. That didn't work.

Remember 2014? Miami fired Ireland and kept head coach Joe Philbin. That didn't work, either.

Owner Stephen Ross finally realized in 2016 that cleaning a few rooms isn't enough. The Dolphins are a mess with coaching and personnel and the team needs a completely new direction, not just a few tweaks.

Hickey was more a victim of circumstance than anything else. He only had two drafts, and some of those picks, such as Jarvis Landry and Ja'Wuan James, have already shown to be solid players. The team has struggled making the right moves in free agency the past two years, but Mike Tannenbaum shares some of the blame with Hickey since becoming vice president last year.

Letting go of Hickey also opens the door for Miami to land the best head coach possible. The Dolphins cannot afford more "shotgun weddings" between coaches and general managers who are forced to work together. It's important that this pair comes in together with the Dolphins, know how to work together and share the same vision.

In fact, a clear vision should be the operative phrase as Miami moves forward in its search for a new general manager and head coach. It's something the team has lacked for a long time.