INDIANAPOLIS — In the Miami Dolphins’ long-ago news conference naming Chris Grier their new general manager, Grier boldly said that “the talk of dysfunction within this organization is over.” Fast-forward six years, and the Dolphins are on their third different head coach and are subjects of an NFL investigation created to determine if owner Stephen Ross tried to bribe Brian Flores to lose games in 2019.
Can the Miami Dolphins fix their dysfunction?
Grier declined to comment on the league-run inquiry at the 2022 NFL Combine Wednesday but did say he was partially responsible for the organization’s repeated inability to work in unison.
“I don’t think it’s just one thing,” Grier said when asked why it’s been so difficult for the organization to stay on the same page. “I have to take blame for that, too. I think at the end of the day, we all just try to do our best to get everyone going in the same direction and trying to find ways to win.
“I think we feel good about where we’re going. We’re excited about Mike [McDaniel] and the coaching staff. I think a lot of the players have been around the building to see him and communicated how excited they are to be around him and his energy. But you’re right — there has been [dysfunction], but we’re excited about 2022 and moving forward.”
Dolphins’ success depends on Mike McDaniel-Chris Grier relationship
When the Dolphins began their search for a new coach, Ross gave this explanation for firing Flores after back-to-back winning seasons:
“I think an organization can only function if it is collaborative and it works well together. I don’t think that we were really working well as an organization that it would take to really win consistently at the NFL level.”
While we’re very early into McDaniel’s time as Dolphins coach, he seems to meet that criteria. He’s open and accessible in a way that Flores never was, and based on Grier’s comments Wednesday, he has his dream job. Presumably, he doesn’t want to mess that up by repeating his predecessor’s mistakes.
How the Miami Dolphins decided on Mike McDaniel
“I didn’t really know Mike [at the onset of the search],” Chris Grier said. “He was a guy that his name was kind of under the radar, popping up from people. And so just kind of going through it we were putting together names for it. But he was one that was always in there. Everyone kept saying he was kind of the brains behind everything going on.
“I don’t want to discredit Kyle because Kyle Shanahan is obviously a very good football coach with what he’s done,” Grier added. “But as you guys have gotten to talking that people that know him, and the one thing that was always interesting was everyone saying he was the most swagged-out guy. And kind of like how he looks, you don’t think that he can connect with people like that. But he’s just got this way and this personality of dealing with people. And so as we got to know him and be around him, it was really interesting.”
“He told us from Day 1 of the interview that this was his dream opportunity, and he had been waiting for someone to acknowledge him for all the hard work he’s done. Because he had been with Sean [McVay] and everyone,” Grier said. “All those guys had moved on — [Matt] LaFleur had moved on and become successful coaches. And Kyle as well, and so it was a really interesting process. He made no bones about that he wanted the job, he thought it was a great fit for him. And so as we got to know him more, we got more excited as we spent more time with him.”