BY MIKE RIFKIN
Friday morning was the beginning for Dolphin fans, as General Manager Chris Grier and the team decided to “Mutually agree to part ways”. Grier had been in the organization since 2000, but has been the GM since 2016. So let’s be honest Grier won’t be the only one to go, he is just the first to go. The Dolphins are 2-7 and are coming off a 28-6 drubbing at the hands of the Ravens, and it’s been a long season in Miami. Champ Kelly is the interim GM, and personally should only be the interim because long term they have to go outside the organization.
It was later announced that coach Mike McDaniel will coach the team for the rest of the season. Honestly, that’s fine with me let him finish the season and then let him go. See if you can potentially make the season interesting, but after the season McDaniel needs to go. He made the playoffs his first two seasons, but since his in game decisions, time management among other things have been a major issue. According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, a new coach might NOT want to work with QB Tua Tagovailoa and that might allow McDaniel to stay an extra year.
If Stephen Ross is serious about building this team into a contender, that absolutely cannot happen. McDaniel has to go, as does Tagovailoa. When Tua first entered this system it was fabulous, but injuries and teams have learned how to defend it. Let’s be honest here Tua has not played well this year at all, he already has thrown 11 interceptions on the season. Tua’s play has been a problem, but so has been his mouth at press conferences. Him throwing teammates under the bus for being late to meetings, or saying how loud opposing fans are at his home stadium, it’s unacceptable. No matter the dead money, Ross should cut his losses with Tua this offseason too.
The Grier firing is the start of changes in Miami, and come Tuesday’s trade deadline there needs to be quite a few moves made by Champ Kelly. Right now is actually a good time for a reset, with the Bills being as dominant as they’ve been over the years and now the Patriots seem to be back, the Dolphins can take a page out of their book and build back through the draft. For Stephen Ross this cannot be change for the sake of change, this needs to be a shift in not just identity, but building a culture for a team that has been irrelevant since Dan Marino retired.
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