How Did Grier’s Rebuild Get So Bad So Fast

At the top of my head, Xavien Howard, Tagovailoa, Austin Jackson, and Waddle. I am probably missing a few, but it’s not many. A lot of the players from the first couple of drafts were productive, like Wilkins, Hunt, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Brandon Jones, to name a few. Grier didn’t have the vision to try to work out extensions ahead of time, and when the contracts expired, the price went up.

That’s bad management and not looking ahead. The Buffalo Bills have done this, and it’s why they have continuity on their roster and have won 5 straight AFC East Titles and been to two AFC Championship games. That’s a big difference between the two teams. Grier didn’t properly replace those players, as Chubb and Phillips missed basically all last season, they signed Jordan Poyer who is over the hill and done as a player and signed cheap defensive tackles like Benito Jones. Grier had no plan for the guard position. 

Grier gave a big contract to Byron Jones in 2020, making him the highest-paid DB in the league at the time. He didn’t play well and got hurt prior to 2022, and is out of the league. After trading premium picks for Hill, Chubb, and Ramsey, Grier gave them new contracts or, in Ramsey’s case, inherited his contract.

The Dolphins had fewer picks and less cap space that could have been used to re-sign some of the players I already mentioned, so there was a talent drain in 2024 because of this. 

Grier has also had questionable draft picks. In 2020, he had three first-round picks and, with the last pick, took defensive back Noah Igbonogenie, who wasn’t ready to play and was a complete bust. The Dolphins could have taken a running back like Jonathon Taylor, or they could have taken Hunt with the 30th pick and could have used the 5th year option on him to buy time rather than let him walk after 2023.

They also took Cam Smith in the 2nd round in 2023, and he was a bust. The Dolphins just released him. The Dolphins have no players left on the roster from the 2022 draft, and if not for De Von Achane, the Dolphins wouldn’t have anybody from 2023. This sets you up for failure eventually. 

The biggest thing is that it starts with the owner, Stephen Ross. The warning signs were there last year with the team, and it was clear they were going downhill, but he decided to be patient with Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel. Right now, he is losing patience, and it’s a matter of when he will make a change. The biggest question I have is will he fire Grier along with McDaniel?

Grier has been with the Dolphins for 25 years and came up through the organization, but it’s clear as day that it is time for a change, and that means Ross needs to look outside the organization to find someone to make football decisions and also pick the head coach, because Ross has had a bad history picking head coaches. Joe Philbin and Adam Gase weren’t fit to be head coaches. Brian Flores was a good head coach, but clashed with Ross.

Maybe Ross should take that as a sign, years later, that he must change. Ross isn’t an actively involved owner, which is fine, but he is the one who picks the head coach and is bad at it. McDaniel was refreshed at first, but he is over his head, especially during the bad times.

In 2014, Ross had the chance to hire a GM, such as Eric Decosta, but he turned it down because he wanted to change coaches and pick the coach. Well, Decosta has now put together a very good roster with the Baltimore Ravens after succeeding Ozzie Newsome.

Ross missed the boat on that. If the Dolphins are ever going to get this turned around, Ross must take a good look in the mirror at himself and make changes in how he is running the team and not doing. He is a successful businessman and is fully invested in it, still at age 85, and God bless him for that, but if he really wants to improve the product on the field, he needs to take a long look at this and make changes himself.