Why the Chris Grier seat is getting hot as the Miami Dolphins GM

Becoming a normal supervisor with the Miami Dolphins could also be a dying discover and Chris Grier may very well be the subsequent one to hit the unemployment line.

There is plenty of season left and plenty of time for Brian Flores to educate up the gamers that he has on the roster however one factor is turning into fairly clear, Flores might maintain the keys to Grier’s future with the group.

If we glance again over Miami Dolphins historical past since the days of Jimmy Johnson we see a nasty foreboding development. GMs lose their jobs and don’t typically land on their toes. Dave Wannstedt by no means truly held the GM title. He, like Rick Spielman have been VPs of Player Personnel.

Randy Mueller spent three seasons with the Dolphins and was fired after the 1-15 catastrophe in 2007. Jeff Ireland spent 5 seasons in the job and Dennis Hickey acquired two seasons. None of them have returned to a GM job.

Now we’ve got Grier. Grier has been with the Dolphins group since 2000 first as an space scout after which labored his approach as much as Director of College Scouting earlier than assuming the GM position in 2016. The downside? Grier has been with Miami by way of nearly all of these different GMs and Miami wasn’t capable of flip round the group or discover high quality gamers.

Grier entered his third season this yr with Brian Flores as his coach and has had extra draft picks than any GM earlier than him. He has had no wage cap issues and was given the go-ahead to dismantle the roster in 2019 however Grier hasn’t succeeded. The expertise he has introduced in is common at finest and there are a number of gamers bordering on bust standing.

We are inclined to neglect that Brian Flores is in his third season whereas Chris Grier is in his sixth.

When it comes right down to actuality, profitable trumps being an incredible individual and Grier is imagined to be a very nice man, however…there is at all times a however.

• 2016: 8 draft picks have been made, Grier traded Laremy Tunsil for a bevy of draft picks and Xavien Howard is nonetheless on the roster. He is the just one from 2016 nonetheless on the roster.
• 2017: 7 draft picks have been made. None of these gamers, together with first spherical mega-bust Charles Harris are nonetheless on the roster. (Isaiah Ford is on the follow squad).
• 2018: 8 draft picks made: Mike Gesicki, Jerome Baker, Durham Smythe, and Jason Sanders stay.
• 2019: 4 of six gamers stay three seasons later.
• 2020: 11 draft picks have been made together with three first spherical picks. Tagovailoa, Austin Jackson, and Noah Igbinoghene and none of them could also be on the roster in one other yr or two.

Grier has had time to get gamers on the roster that may assist this group win and thus far, he hasn’t. The offensive line is nonetheless a large number regardless of investing 9 draft picks on offensive lineman since 2016. Forget about his capacity to signal free agent expertise at the place. This yr alone he signed D.J. Fluker, Matt Skura, and Jermaine Eluemunor. Skura is taking part in properly as a guard for the Giants and Eluemunor is taking part in for the Raiders as a starter. Meanwhile, the Dolphins nonetheless are taking part in musical chairs.

We can’t blame Grier for all of it. Coaching is a difficulty as properly however we have to understand that Stephen Ross is extra more likely to maintain Flores over Grier if modifications at the finish of the season must be made. That being stated, Ross might very properly view the two as equally accountable ought to this not flip round and if that is the case, I believe 2022 might be the yr Ross makes that call.

One factor to look at is the Deshaun Watson scenario. If Grier trades away a great chunk of the Dolphins future draft capital, he is aware of his seat is hot as a result of if he fails, he wouldn’t be round to make use of the picks anyway.