The Case Against Grier

He Hired Brian Flores: We don’t know who made the final call on hiring Adam Gase back in 2016, but we do know Chris Grier was the man responsible for bringing Flores to Miami. Flores flew through assistant coaches at a very high rate; he couldn’t get along with numerous people within the organization, was the main reason why the Dolphins were forced to trade a borderline Top 10 pick in Minkah Fitzpatrick after one season, and he didn’t support or set up his young quarterback who was a Top 5 draft pick for success. Oh, and on top of all of that, he turned around and sued the organization, got the owner suspended, and cost Miami multiple draft picks after a league investigation. And even more, Grier hired a coach who didn’t share his vision of a so-called “tank season” in 2019 and hired a guy who tried to win meaningless games with veterans, which cost Miami the #1 overall pick in the draft and Joe Burrow (who led his team to a Super Bowl in year two).

The Dolphins Haven’t Won a Playoff Game Since Grier Has Been in Miami: Now, this one is tricky because for many of those years, Grier was a scout or the assistant director of college scouting, and you can’t hold on-the-field success (or lack thereof) against him in a lower level role as he had. However, he has been the GM since 2016 and has had full power since 2019. In the 2020 and 2021 drafts, he had nine…YES NINE, 1st and 2nd round draft picks in total. And with all of those picks in the early rounds, he has yet to have one of his teams obtain a playoff win. You can point to injuries, you can point to coaching, you make one of a million excuses. But not one team he built with his fingerprints all over has won a playoff game.

Head-scratching Decisions: There have been some head-scratching decisions during Grier’s time as the general manager. When he hired Mike McDaniel in 2022, McDaniel requested to have Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator. Grier blocked that and forced McDaniel to have Josh Boyer be his DC, only a year later to reverse and hire Vic Fangio as the DC, to fire him after one season (and yes, folks, he was fired) when Vic led the Dolphins to a Top 10 defense. Drafting Noah Igbinoghene in Round 1 during the 2020 draft when Miami already had Xavien Howard and Byron Jones (who at the time were both Top 5 NFL cornerbacks) when his roster had holes literally everywhere, and his roster was void of talent at WR, LB, RB, offensive line, and the defensive line. I won’t nitpick every draft pick a general manager has made because, for one, it’s not fair as every GM has missed on picks. But the Noah pick was a miss on another level for multiple factors that cannot be easily overlooked or brushed off.

The Case For Grier

He has put together the two most talented rosters Miami has had in over 20 years: The 2022 and 2023 Miami Dolphins rosters were by far the most talented teams since probably the Marino days in the late 90s. And the proof is Miami got off to an 8-3 start in 2022 and a 9-3 start in 2023. Is it his fault his coaching staff couldn’t navigate the Dolphins to a division title and a playoff win? Some would say yes since he hired the head coach. But others would say a GM can only do so much in his role, and if he has given his coaching staff all of the pieces at some point, that staff has to bring home the results. And I tend to agree with that.

He has Hit on a Lot of Draft Picks: Since 2019, Chris Grier has drafted (in no special order) Christian Wilkins, Tua, Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson, Jevon Holland, Jaylen Waddle, Andrew Van Ginkel, DeVon Achane, and Jaelan Phillips. Of course, a few of those players are no longer here, but it isn’t like they aren’t here because they are busts. They aren’t here because they were so good that they got mega deals to be some of the highest-paid players at their positions (Hunt and Wilkins).

He has Brought Stability to the Quarterback Position: I know this one will drive some of you crazy, but it is true. Since Marino, Tua has been the best Dolphins quarterback to the point where he is on the verge of getting a massive payday and contract extension to make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Being the best Dolphins QB since Marino is a low bar to meet, I will admit. I’m not here for a Tua debate or to change anyone’s mind on him, but whether you love him or hate him, you have to accept at least the fact that, moving forward, Miami has their quarterback of the future. If Tua ends up failing and not living up to the contract he is about to sign and fails to bring Miami a division title or a playoff win, then this one will move up into “The Case Against Grrier.” And it will probably also be the reason why Grier is eventually fired. But for now, as of today, March 30th, 2024, this is a positive that Grier should get credit for. But, as Stephen A. Smith says, “it’s fluid.”

Conclusion

I do not expect this article to change anyone’s mind. For those drinking the Kool-Aid about Grier, drink away. For those who believe he has failed and Miami will never win with him calling the shots, I hear you, and I understand the frustration. But I wanted to look at the facts, and only the facts about Grier.

Yes, there are more areas I could have explored on both the case for and case against Grier, and maybe I will at a later time, but with this article, I wanted to cover the big items on Grier’s resume.

I do not think the answer is simple if Grier has done a good job since taking over with Miami. It hasn’t been all bad, not by any means, but in the NFL, you are judged by results on the field, and Miami hasn’t had the success, especially the postseason success, to warrant a “thataboy” and pat on the back.

NFL.com Mock Draft has Miami Addressing the Offense in Rd 1