NFL Week 9 contenders: Sunday considers Patriots, Lions, Seahawks
Lorenzo Reyes is 7-2 with picks over the past three weeks. He’s back with his predictions for the Week 9 game.
The writing on the wall in South Florida, in part anyway, became official Friday morning.
The Miami Dolphins and general manager Chris Grier, who has worked for the team for more than a quarter of a century, have mutually decided to go their separate ways.
“As we evaluated the state of our team and spoke with Chris, it became clear to both of us that change could not wait,” owner Stephen Ross said in a statement distributed by the team.
“We have to improve for 2025, 2026 and beyond, and we need to start doing it now. Champ Kelly will immediately take over as interim general manager and we will begin the process of finding a new general manager. I want to thank everyone for stepping up this season and their dedication to the Dolphins’ success. There is a lot of football left to play and we all need to fight even harder.”
“I have been, and continue to be, committed to building a winning team that consistently competes for championships. I am extremely proud of our leadership as an NFL organization and our continued commitment to our communities, but our on-field performance and team-building process has not been good enough. There are no excuses for this team. We want to thank you for your continued support and passion. We need a championship-level team to be proud of. We have a lot of work ahead of us to bring the Dolphins back to sustained success. We look forward to starting the work now, evaluating all areas of our football operations, and moving forward with a clear vision for the future.”
The defining moment obviously came Thursday night, when the Dolphins lost 28-6 to the Baltimore Ravens in a nationally televised game. Miami fans were vocal about their dissatisfaction with their team, and many fans were seen leaving Hard Rock Stadium early in the fourth quarter.
Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel, who remains employed, have been under investigation for more than months. However, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, McDaniel will remain in his position until the end of the season.
Ross gave Grier and McDaniel a vote of confidence in January after Miami’s disappointing 2024 season, which ended with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since McDaniel took over in 2022. The Dolphins haven’t won in the postseason since the 2000 season, which was the league’s longest active drought.
“Continuity of leadership should not be confused with acceptance that the status quo is good enough,” Ross said after the 2024 season. “We will take a hard look at where we are falling short and make the necessary changes to achieve our ultimate goal of building and sustaining a winning team that competes for championships.”
It’s almost certain that the Dolphins won’t be able to do that in 2025, with their 2-7 record dropping them to 14th overall in the AFC.
Grier was hired by the team as a scout in 2000 and was promoted to general manager in 2016. During his tenure, the team had a record of 77 wins and 82 losses, including the playoffs. Most recently, he and McDaniel have built an exciting team in recent years, headlined by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wideout Tyreek Hill as the linchpins of an often explosive offense. But Miami struggled to beat consistently good teams and win games, especially late in the season as the games were held in colder climates away from the warmer confines of Miami Gardens.
Grier’s trades for big-name players like Jalen Ramsey and Bradley Chubb yielded limited benefits while stripping him of draft capital. Even signing Hill, who missed the rest of this season with a knee injury and is likely to be released next year, ultimately didn’t move the team much closer to its first Super Bowl appearance in 40 years. Tagovailoa’s health and stability are also a big question, but that didn’t stop Grier from signing him to a four-year, $212 million extension last year, a contract structure that would effectively stick with the organization through at least the 2026 season.
The culture surrounding franchising is also a big issue these days. Hill, who was team captain at the time, infamously quit the club during last season’s final regular-season game against the Jets in New York, a game in which the Dolphins lost with a playoff spot on the line. Tagovailoa has spoken openly about Hill’s need to earn back the trust of his teammates during training camp, and recently questioned the responsibility of other players in the club’s 2025 spiral.
Grier, 55, is the younger brother of Mike Grier, currently GM of the San Jose Sharks, and the first Black man to hold such a role in the NHL.
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