I get it; Dolphins fans are mad.
Dolphins fans wanted change.
Dolphins fans are fed up with Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel, and nothing they said or could have said at today’s press conference was going to change those feelings the vast majority of Dolphins fans have right now.
With that said, the press conference Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel just finished with the local South Florida media was a double-down on dumb and did nothing to give any hope to Dolphins fans that the 2025 season will be any different than the past few seasons.
Grier and McDaniel (along with Ross) are tone-deaf and cannot read the room to save their lives. They legitimately doubled down on their failed process, offensive line, and how the entire football operations in Miami Gardens operates.
If you are expecting a big philosophy shift on how they view guards or offensive linemen or how they construct a roster overall, don’t hold your breath. Grier said they are “very confident in our process.”
The opening statement from Dolphins GM Chris Grier about a non-playoff losing season:
“It was unacceptable. No one’s happy. We will get this fixed, very confident in our process.”
(🎥 @MiamiDolphins) pic.twitter.com/r5uzx3DloU
— Will Manso (@WillManso) January 7, 2025
Regarding the offensive line, which has been a failure for god knows how many years, as we have all lost count. Chris Grier wouldn’t walk back his comments from the previous two offseasons that “your more worried about the offensive line than we are.”
Chris Grier doesn’t want to walk back his offensive line comments from the past two offseasons, but clarifies that he was simply supporting what he described as the “hardest working” group on the team
Said Austin Jackson was a major loss, as was Kion Smith
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) January 7, 2025
Grier is pinning this all on the loss of Austin Jackson and Kion Smith.
Kion Smith?
Really?
Kion Smith was hurt on August 10th, so he was the pivot point that caused the offensive line to fail (mind you, he was a backup, not even a starter).
Then why didn’t you do anything prior to the season to replace him?
Also, why did they cut Jack Driscoll (one of their big off-season signings on the offensive line) prior to the season and after Kion was hurt?
Grier’s answer is insulting at best or downright stupid at worst. Either way, it’s not good for Dolphins fans hoping for change on the offensive line.
Oh, and Grier did say Miami’s offensive line is the hardest-working unit on the team. If that group worked hard, and that was the end result, then Grier is worse at his job than I thought.
On the topic of Mike McDaniel, there is so much to unpack, and I am unsure where to start.
I guess we will start with playcalling. If you are frustrated with McDaniel’s play calling and everything around that, well, nothing is changing
McDaniel said he feels like the team is best-served with him calling plays but “the second that changes” he will delegate the role
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) January 7, 2025
That is literally the definition of insanity. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
The other hot topic surrounding McDaniel was can he lead a team of men and the rumblings that many players weren’t showing up on time for meetings and the players who were doing what they needed to do and being professionals were frustrated with that.
McDaniel said that some players were late for meetings multiple times, and no matter how many times they were fined, they continued to show up late. It sounds like those players won’t be back next season, but overall it also sounds like it is a shit show behind the scenes, and a portion of the players don’t respect McDaniel and don’t care about the fines.
Also, there was a team meeting Monday after the Jets game, and the “theme of the meeting” was players showing up late for meetings and tardiness (holding that meeting after the season ended seems misplaced, but I didn’t go to Yale.)
“They heard the message,” McDaniel said. “We have “zero tolerance for” tardiness.
Chris Grier said: “Mike’s message to the team was very well received” that players can no longer be late to meetings.
I appreciate Mike McDaniel’s honesty in talking about fines not working on players for being late, etc, but bigger question is why is this happening 3 years into his time as head coach? That’s a level of disrespect from players that’s tough to understand.
(🎥 @MiamiDolphins) pic.twitter.com/SMMAQdxv9V
— Will Manso (@WillManso) January 7, 2025
Some defensive players went to social media a year ago and trolled/mocked when Miami “agreed to part ways with” (i.e., Fired) Vic Fangio. Some defensive players showed a lack of class and immaturity. Sounds like this season many on the Dolphins team had that level of immaturity and didn’t even respect the head coach.
We now know why the Dolphins were voted the #1 franchise by the players. Because they will pay ya lots of money, let you do anything you want, including showing up late for meetings, and there is no accountability.
Tyreek Hill, after the Jets game, said he wanted out of Miami. Grier and McDaniel gave a word salad about that and said the relationship is fixable.
Mike McDaniel on whether his relationship with Tyreek Hill is fixable:
“It’s not acceptable to leave a game and won’t be tolerated in the future. He embraced accountability … I don’t think there’s anything to fix.”
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) January 7, 2025
Grier said Tyreek didn’t ask him for a trade after they spoke on Monday.
Let me break out my crystal ball for Chris and Mike; Tyreek Hill is a ticking time bomb that will go off at the worst possible time on you. Get him off the team ASAP and get anything you can in return for him. I know the contract is difficult to trade (I said difficult, not impossible). But it’s not about the dead cap or what you get in return for a trade; just move on. Cut your losses.
Tyreek’s words ring hollow, and don’t let this blow up and derail your 2025 season because, trust me, it will.
Regarding the quarterback situation, Grier said the Dolphins were “runner-ups” to multiple backup quarterbacks they tried to land last offseason (I guess that is supposed to make fans feel better). He blamed it on cap restrictions (mind you the cap situation is the one he created) on why Miami didn’t get one.
Grier says the Dolphins were “runner ups” for multiple backup qbs throughout the season however due to cap restrictions and compensatory pick status – they went elsewhere. #nfl #finsup pic.twitter.com/goQadyAeOm
— Josh Moser (@TheMozKnowz) January 7, 2025
Regarding Tua, they stand behind him 100%.
“No concern at all. Doctors said it was a very unique injury. No concern at all,” Grier on Tua’s hip injury. “Every year we’ve seen growth in what he does…..He can still ascend, which is kind of weird for a quarterback who have played as much as he has.”
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) January 7, 2025
“Throw the ball away. You don’t have to run around and be Superman. Live for the next play,” Grier on Tua. “What you love about him is his competitiveness and his fight.”
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) January 7, 2025
On Tua staying healthy and being available, Grier said: “He needs to be available and control what he can control. Not being available and taking risks is unacceptable to us. He knows that. Don’t be Superman; throw the ball away. The sooner he understands that, the better.”
“It’s a fair question. The last two years, around the playoffs, didn’t win games, which is not the goal. We are in there to compete and get to Super Bowls. Our biggest thing is the quarterback, when he misses 6 1/2 games. To me, that’s the difference there.”
But overall, you could have replayed the 2022 or 2023 season-ending press conference, and it was exactly the same as this one.
The process isn’t changing.
Your still more worried about the offensive line than they are.
They are going to “fix things”
And Tua needs to stay healthy.
I’m sure 365 days from now, after a failed 2025 season, we will hear a similar press conference.
That’s just the Miami Dolphins way.
So, if someone gets injured, then don’t move heaven and earth to try to replace them, just throw up your hands and say, “oh what the hell, our season is over now”. Both Grier and McDaniel are just 2 clowns who are in charge of the Miami Traveling Circus. Then you have Ross who is the lead clown and clueless as the day is long.
It’s useless to talk about Grier and McDaniel. Everyone knows Grier is the worst GM in the NFL (no way would he ever get another GM job when he finally gets fired or “retires”). McDaniel is so far in over his head and is no leader of men. He can’t even run an offense. His game planning is terrible. He is so focused on taking what the defense gives him – why – do what you do and force the d to stop you. Instead he blows off what they do well and tries other things that don’t work. How many passes behind the line can you throw all while you have the 2 of the fastest WR’s in the NFL on the field. And oh by the way – why being a finesse offense built on speed do you have a FB and 2 TE’s on the field all the time? And lastly why are your plays so complicated that your team is walking up to the line with under 10 seconds on the play clock constantly. No d has to worry about an audible cause there is NO time to see and call one!
To get any change the media needs to start calling out Ross DAILY! Make him be accountable for this mess for once. Don’t let him hide behind Grier and McDaniel anymore. Start writing articles about him doing nothing. Big deal he has a open checkbook – he has hired and set up a terrible organization. Run so poorly! Year 3 and guys are complaining cause their teammates are showing up late continually and nothing is done about it?? Do you think Dan Campbell would let that happen in Detroit? McDaniel and all 130 lbs of him probably goes up to the guys and says whats up why late and they tower over him and say – yep whats up? Why does Ross not have to answer to this? It’s not his team? It’s McDaniels problem? No it’s his team – he owns the organization – he is accountable for the team! If his employees can’t do the job then get someone who can. Grier has obviously set this up so nothing can be done until after 2025. Very smart and gives them another year to continue to run this team into the ground. Thx for nothing Ross!! You have spent your money building a suffering miserable fan base. Congrats!! But until Ross is forced to truly answer daily for this nothing will change. Turn the focus away from Grier and McDaniel and lay it right on Ross’ door please!!
I’m now of firm opinion that Ross is Jerry Jones Lite. His team can score points in bunches(altho this year only against bad teams) and that gets highlights. He’s confident Grier can win offseasons and McDaniel is Miami cool and they can win enough to be relevant. Winning Super Bowls just isn’t the priority. Ross uses the stadiums for all sorts of events and F1. Why mess with what makes money?