Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Move forward
Dolphins’ rebuild falls on shoulders of GM Grier
DAVIE – Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has the confidence of team owner Steve Ross.
Grier says he has learned from the likes of Bill Parcells, Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.
And Grier will be the person in position to move the Dolphins franchise forward after Ross fired coach Adam Gase after three seasons and reassigned Mike Tannenbaum from his role as vice president of football operations on Monday.
“He’s probably one of the most respected people in the NFL,” Ross said of Grier, who after 19 seasons with the Dolphins franchise is tasked with hiring a coach and managing the team’s roster.
“He’s been a guy behind the scenes in making a lot of the personnel decisions but not leading the organization,” Ross said Monday. “Chris will have total responsibility of leading the organization. He will work together with a new coach. He will make all football decisions and report to me.”
Grier will be the only minority general manager in the NFL when Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome retires after this season.
The Dolphins swiftly altered their organization and future one day after finishing the 2018 season with a 7-9 record after a blowout 42-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Now, Grier will enter his fourth season as general manager with absolute power of football decisions.
“It’s not about winning one year and then falling back,” Grier said. “We want to build this thing the right way, where it’s long sustained success where the fans are happy, Steve is happy and we’re winning for long periods of time.”
Here’s what fans might not know about Grier:
Grier has been a mainstay in the Dolphins’ scouting department since he joined the franchise in 2000. He was first an area scout until 2002, then national scout and assistant director of college scouting from 2003-06, then the Dolphins’ director of college scouting from 2007-15 before being named general manager.
Grier is credited with drafting the likes of Dolphins left tackle Laremy Tunsil, cornerback Xavien Howard, running back Kenyan Drake and defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. He also had a hand in drafting Dolphins Pro Bowl players such as tackle Jake Long, defensive lineman Paul Soliai, center Mike Pouncey, wide receiver Jarvis Landry and running back Jay Ajayi.
He’s a a Holliston, Mass., native and went to school at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he earned a journalism degree and played two years of college football before injuries derailed his career.
Grier’s brother, Mike, is an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils after playing for four NHL teams in 14 seasons.
Grier’s father, Bobby, was the former vice president of player personnel for the Patriots and recently retired as a senior personnel adviser with the Texans. Grier began his NFL career as an intern under his father in New England in 1994.
Grier spent extensive time working with Parcells, Carroll and Belichick during their times together in New England, before working with Saban when he coached the Dolphins.
“There’s a lot of those guys, [and] a lot of that has influenced me. And I talk to those guys still about a lot of different things,” Grier said of the four accomplished coaches.
“I just have strong beliefs of what I believe in, how football teams win and how they’re built, so I shared that with Steve. We had a good conversation and that’s going to be our plan going forward.”
“There [are] good football coaches – pro and college – and I think we’re going to investigate every avenue. For us, the important thing will be finding the right guy that kind of believes in some of the same things I do in terms of building a team.
“But I’m also flexible enough that if he presents his ideas and we think it’s good. It’s going to be collaboration [in] everything we do still. I know we talk about having control … but it’s not going to work if he and I don’t share a vision to implement that plan throughout the organization.”
“Chris will have total responsibility of leading the organization. He will work together with a new coach. He will make all football decisions and report to me.” —Team owner Steve Ross on general manager Chris Grier