Finally, team’s structure seems right at the top
They met for the first time in the back of a distant press box at a preseason game in a manner that didn’t foreshadow some future partnership.
“I don’t even remember where it was,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said. Nor does he remember when. “We were both scouts,” he said. Maybe 2004, 2005? He nods. “Around there.” About all Grier remembers from that first, casual meeting was something about how Brian Flores, “carried himself well.” They kept in touch when paths crossed through the years, each climbing different ladders with different franchises, “but it’s not anything like we were super close,” Grier said.
Now they form the central partnership that will spell success or more misery for the Dolphins. But say this at the start: Steve Ross finally got this first and fundamental step right.
You can exercise your hardearned right as a scarred Dolphins fan to suspend judgment on this next regime while agreeing it’s the first time Ross structured things properly.
One man at the top, El Jefe , in Grier. The head coach, Flores, who was hand-picked by Grier (who said he pushed Flores to others on the search committee). A partnership starting on the same timeline with, as Flores said, “the same principles.”
That’s the simple way it all should be and, oddly, the way Ross never has done it. He has been the king of the staggered starts and forced marriages of general managers and coaches that devolve into divorces and the next forced marriage.
There remain questions of why
Grier didn’t just survive this latest change but was promoted despite uneven drafts. That’s fair. But there’s no questions of who’s in charge or what the timeline to win is, as with every other season with Ross.
Look at this latest failed marriage. Ross hired coach Adam Gase a year after promoting Mike Tannenbaum to run the football side. Gase, vetted and all but hired by Ross, met Tannenbaum on Ross’ jet as it took them from New York to South Florida.
Gase and Tannenbaum didn’t have the open feuds in the manner previous general manager Jeff Ireland did with coaches Tony Sparano and Joe Philbin. Their issues were more of a survivalist nature as the end came into view.
Gase privately blamed the talent on the roster (even if he had a big hand in shaping it). Tannenbaum vented about Gase’s game-day strategy, for example the coach’s disdain to run the ball on third-and-short.
That was tame compared to Ross’ other football partnerships. Coach Sparano didn’t speak to Ireland their final season in 2011. Nor did Philbin speak with Ireland in their last year of 2013.
Here’s another thing Ross finally got right:
“To me, you start an organization by finding a great leader,” he said of hiring Flores. “That was probably the most important aspect we were looking for, as opposed to what we’ve seen a lot of other teams were looking for, offensive minded coaches, due to the success of Sean McVay and some of the great offensive minds.”
Ross didn’t need to use other teams as a bad example. He could have used himself. Gase was his attempt to find McVay. That failed. Before that, he hired Philbin for his “great organization,” and work with Green Bay’s offense. That failed.
This probably becomes the final regime for Ross. He’s 78. His successor as Dolphins owner, Bruce Beal, joined the proceedings on Monday, just as he does all games.
Every regime change is a roll of the dice. Can Grier draft better on his own than he has under Tannenbaum and Gase? Can Flores oversee a difficult rebuilding?
What you know is the the structure makes sense here. Grier at the top. Flores, his hand-picked coach. Both starting from scratch. It seems fundamental. But this franchise has struggled with fundamentals for two decades now.