Is The Miami Dolphins Super Bowl Window Rapidly Closing?

So, hear me out: I think that with the recent decisions the Dolphins have made, especially this off-season, their Super Bowl Window might be closing rapidly. Allow me to explain three reasons why their window is closing or has already closed, and then I’ll explain how they can still get there.

No One Can Stay Healthy

The Dolphins have had the injury bug hit them the worst, in my opinion, of all the quote “contenders in the AFC. They have especially suffered injuries at the quarterback position, with Tua Tagovailoa taking the brunt of those injuries, having had three or possibly even four concussions in his career with the Dolphins. Not to mention his injury history in Alabama, with the hip injury he had that ended his collegiate career earlier than his other 2020 NFL Draft counterparts like Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, even though Herbert was taken one pick after Tua.

Then, Bradley Chubb goes down with a torn ACL in 2023, and Jaelan Phillips with an Achilles injury in 2024. Peter Schrager from Good Morning Football on NFL Network made a good point related to this, saying they’d have a bounce-back year if they are healthy, which I agree with. In short, this team can’t stay healthy, but if they did, they might have a shot at winning the division if it were constructed correctly, which leads me to my next point.

Front Office Is a Joke Under Chris Grier

Chris Grier has been an average general manager at best for the Dolphins. The guy behind the scenes of the contracts that does not get mentioned a ton is Brandon Shore and DouglieDoWrong mentioned him in one of his videos titled “An Unsung Hero In The Front Office”, and I thought he’d be a way better general manager than Chris Grier based on how he has managed the contracts for the team. Grier has been with the team since 2000 and has served as its general manager since 2016.

I try not to bash the front office too much, but Grier isn’t saying he’s perfect because no one has made more draft busts than hits. While in the 2024 Draft, they did take Chop Robinson with the 21st pick of that draft. Chris hasn’t necessarily made a ton of flashes at the draft. Though I think he took a swing with trading for Tyreek Hill, which at the time we all thought was a no-brainer, but as time passed with his off-the-field problems and watching his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, win back-to-back Super Bowls in Super Bowls LVII and LVIII. Personally, Grier just has not done enough to be a proper general manager in this league, in my opinion.

Too Many Holes To Be Considered A “Contender”

The Dolphins have many holes on this roster mainly at defensive back at all positions after the Jalen Ramsey news, Defensive Line, and especially the Offensive Line which the Dolphins doubled down on in a press conference between head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier who I said was an average general manager at best in the last segment. The only realistic starters on this team are Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, Zach Sieler at defensive tackle, Jaelan Phillips, as well as Chop Robinson on the edges.

Then De’von Achane at running back, Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill, as well as Nick Westbrook-Ikhine at receiver.

Then, Ifeatu Melinfonwu as well as Ashtyn Davis at safety, and lastly Jonnu Smith at Tight End. I know this is a lot to digest as far as starters, but it is all they have, and I have not even mentioned James Daniels and Patrick Paul on the offensive line. Also, don’t even get me started with Liam Eichenberg, who, don’t get me wrong, is a good hard worker, but his hard work isn’t translated onto the field when the Dolphins need it.

Austin Jackson is an okay right tackle, not great, but he has improved over the past few years, from what I’ve seen. They need to hope that these holes on their team don’t get them blown out by the good teams like the Buffalo Bills in their division. They just have too many holes on the team to truly be considered a legit AFC contender for the Super Bowl, especially against the lights of Kansas City, Baltimore, and Buffalo, the three teams that I see as legit in the AFC.

How the Dolphins can be a Super Bowl contender

The first step to being a contender is making the right decisions and taking baby steps towards achieving what Stephen Ross calls competing for championships. This is what he said after the season, in a statement explaining his decision to keep Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel. I think they need first to fill in as many of the holes I described to make themselves a true contender in their conference. This could be through free agency, trades, or even the draft. In case you aren’t aware, the draft is exactly one week away as of this article.

I will say this about the draft thing: they need to either fill in their needs or take the best player available.

This way, they can fill out the remaining starting spots on their roster. Lastly, it goes back to the play on the field, which dates back to the disaster game against the Titans on Monday Night Football, not last season, but the one before that. They had a two-score lead with less than three minutes left, and they could not close that game out because of their mismanagement of the clock by them, allowing the Titans to win that game.

I won’t get too involved with that, I am just using it as an example to show how their play on the field, in my opinion, has been average and not at the level of, say, the “Chiefskies,” as Brendan Tobin from the Tobin and Leroy show on 560 Sports WQAM likes to say. It is crazy how, if the Dolphins just cleaned up the issues on the field, they would be a much better team.

In conclusion, I said that the Miami Dolphins’ Super Bowl window is rapidly closing. What led me to think this is recent events and past failures of this team under Mike McDaniel’s tenure as head coach of the Dolphins. I said that they need to stay healthy; if everyone is healthy, then you can give maximum effort each week of the 17-game season. The front office is a joke under Chris Grier currently.

If Grier wants to be a better general manager, he has to make moves that will help improve the team. They have too many holes in this team, particularly in the positions I mentioned, as well as in the starters they currently have. And lastly, how they can be a contender by making those moves and putting in the work.  In short, if they want to change it, they have to take action, and that’s something to wait and see before this team becomes a dumpster fire and we’re all back in mediocrity.