Dolphins fans want to see change after this disappointing 2024 season, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
If you think Stephen Ross must do something, he probably won’t.
If you think Mike McDaniel must make changes to his staff (i.e., Danny Crossman), he probably won’t.
Don’t set yourself up to be heartbroken in about three weeks from now; I’m telling you this organization is going to run it back in 2025 with the same people.
That carries over to the field as well. If you expect to see a bunch of players jettisoned and a completely new team next year, again, don’t hold your breath.
When Miami extended Mike McDaniel, Jalen Ramsey, Jaylen Waddle, and Tua Tagovailoa last offseason and restructured Terron Armstead‘s deal, it tied its future to them.
Yes, Armstead may retire (then again, he may not, as he is under contract through the 2026 season and may just show up and collect a paycheck. He doesn’t have to retire if he doesn’t want to.)
If you are sick and tired of Tyreek Hill’s antics off the field, his declining play on the field, and his social media trolling which isn’t so cute when the team is losing, and you think Miami could trade him if another team wants him. Well, they can’t.
It’s not that they won’t; they literally cannot because of the reworked deal they gave him back in August is impossible to move. So, don’t think about it, as Tyreek will be in Miami in 2025.
If you think the Dolphins may have buyer’s remorse on the contract they gave Tua, and they will bite the bullet and cut him and move on, remember Tua isn’t even on his new contract, he is still playing out the 5th year of his rookie deal. So, that won’t happen.
If you think they will cut Bradley Chubb after trading a 1st round pick and a 4th round pick and really only having Chubb for half of the 2022 season and all of the 2023 season, you’re nuts. Because the day they traded for him, they gave him a 5-year deal worth $110 million with $63.2 million guaranteed. It would be an admission of a mistake to give up a 1st and a 4th for a guy who has only played 23 games in Miami.
And we know Chris Grier doesn’t like to admit mistakes, hence why Liam Eichenberg is a starter on this team in 2024.
If you think Miami must move on from Mike McDaniel, who, for the last two seasons, has a 1-10 record vs teams above .500, again, keep dreaming. Stephen Ross just extended him this past offseason, and he has gotten the most out of Tua (well compared to how Flores screwed up with Tua).
Now, the most out of Tua may not be good enough to win a playoff game or the AFC East or anything of consequence, but moving on from him when you are so heavily financially invested in Tua is only going to diminish your biggest financial asset (i.e., Tua) who seems to really like McDaniel.
You see, results and performance don’t matter in Miami; it’s all about feelings and getting along with each other to have a happy work atmosphere.
Tua and McDaniel are BFFs, and they get along. While sure they don’t ever win anything, it’s a cozy work atmosphere. And for Ross, that is important because, you know, the last head coach claimed he was told to lose on purpose, said the work atmosphere in Miami sucked, and sued him.
Plus, Stephen Ross just extended Mike McDaniel, and if he has to bail on him a few months after paying big bucks to extend him, let’s just say Mr. Ross will be grumpy that morning when he sits down for his Cheerios and morning coffee.
Now, the elephant in the room I have saved for last is Chris “You More Worried about the Offensive Line than We Are” Grier.
While all logic points to this guy needing to be removed from his position because it’s been many years of failure with him in charge, it won’t happen.
For one, if you fire Grier but force the next GM to keep Mike McDaniel and Tua, you won’t get a quality general manager to take the job. Nobody will want the job. I mean, you will get somebody, but that person will be a total gamble, probably underqualified, and may actually be worse than Grier.
Second, there is this notion (and it may be 100% true) that Chris Grier is nothing more than a puppet who only does what the head coach wants. If that’s the case, there truly is no blood on his hands for the disaster that is the 2024 Miami Dolphins season. It’s all McDaniel’s fault, which, if true, means he isn’t getting fired for the reasons I stated above.
Third, we know Stephen Ross is loyal to a fault. He sticks with guys longer than he should. He did with Jeff Ireland, and he had no plans to fire Adam Gase, but when Adam Gase got in Mr. Ross’s face after a game late in the 2018 season and yelled at him, he forced the hand of the owner who had to fire him. (Life Tip: Don’t Scream at your Billionaire Boss.)
Long story short, nobody is going anywhere.
Everyone is going to keep their job.
Remember they were working the media and putting out a cover for this back in March. Oh, you forgot? Remember when they were telling reporters and preparing fans that 2024 may be a “pause year,” “transition year,” or a “re-set year.” (skip ahead to the 1:22 mark below)
Biggest move of Dolphins offseason will likely be eventual Tua Tagovailoa huge 💰extension & as Miami loses several key homegrown players in free agency its transition to a team that has to be more selective with its free agency/offseason moves has begun.
More from @nflnetwork: pic.twitter.com/MU9kK04H3a
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) March 11, 2024
So, while Grier and McDaniel say you are more worried about the offensive line than they are, they probably also feel you are more worried about the 2024 season than they were.
I hope everything I wrote here is false and that we do get true change. Then, we can come back here in a few weeks and have a good laugh about how everything I just wrote is 100% wrong.
Unfortunately, everything I wrote here is accurate, and that’s how you go 24+ years without winning a playoff game as an organization.
