Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Grier scores one for the little guys
Kelly: Quiet team player rises in Dolphins organization.
The saying goes, “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed.”
But in this instance, the latest chapter of “As the Miami Dolphins Turn,” maybe it did.
Hard to say otherwise because the man with the quietest voice in the Dolphins’ old trifecta of power, a softspoken, humble man, will become the only black person running an NFL franchise once Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome’s retirement becomes official in the coming weeks.
The man who had the least amount of influence in what transpired the past three seasons survived the latest Dolphins’ purge and got what everyone has wanted from owner Steve Ross.
Chris Grier is now the person in charge. He’s got all the power and can run the show without being forced to compromise.
Now everyone answers to Grier, who only answers to Ross. He’s the boss.
“He certainly knows how to play the game,” said one of Grier’s contemporaries, who worked with him for many years.
This is a win not just for Grier, it’s also a victory for all those “team players” who regularly suffer through bad bosses and egotistical co-workers, are constantly second-guessed and frequently undermined.
It’s a triumph for those who climbed the ladder the right way, slowly, and
stayed grounded in the process.
That is how I’d describe Grier. While I would have preferred a total purge of the organization because there’s a need for fresh voices and bold strategies, who says Grier can’t offer that?
Or that he hasn’t been.
To Ross’ credit, he knew where everyone stood on every decision made the past few years. Ross knew who was advocating for what, and why. The hope is that he realized in hindsight he should have been listening to Grier and not former vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, who was demoted Monday, and coach Adam Gase, who was fired.
It is impossible to say for sure who trainwrecked this franchise, but I do know one thing about Grier that I’m not willing to debate.
He talked all offseason about the Dolphins adding a quarterback to compete with Ryan Tannehill. It was the one theme he carried throughout the entire offseason, then the Dolphins decision-makers didn’t do it.
The Dolphins flirted with Teddy Bridgewater until they realized his asking price was too high and then signed Brock Osweiler for the minimum, with the understanding that he wasn’t viewed as competition for Tannehill.
Miami then kicked the tires on a dozen quarterbacks in the draft and could have easily selected one in the first round. The Dolphins not only passed on drafting Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson, but they also didn’t take a quarterback in the later rounds.
That was a shortsighted view, one the organization has had for far too long regarding the quarterback position, and it’s been a mistake that has produced a decade of misery.
The best solution for Miami to exit the mediocrity merry-go-round is to start shopping for a new quarterback, and Grier provided a hint during Monday’s press conference when he described Tannehill’s status this way: “Right now he’s on the roster.”
Playing the game well got Grier promoted to the top of the perch, and now it’s on him to play the quarterback game well enough to resurrect the Dolphins.
This franchise needs to learn from its mistakes and create solutions that can deliver a brighter future. Hopefully Grier has learned some valuable lessons in his 19 years working his way up the franchise.
What initially bothered me about this shift in power is it seemed a bit lazy. Instead of starting fresh, Ross just moved up the person with the least power in the past structure, handing the organization to a man that has been part of the decisionmaking.
But it’s actually a bolder choice because it empowered the little guy, giving him the power and control he always wanted and fought for, but never got.
Now Grier needs to win for those other little guys quietly waiting for their turn.