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.”

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.”

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

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.

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.

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.

Regarding Tua, they stand behind him 100%.

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.

 

PFF Mock Draft has Miami Beefing Up the Trenches in Rd 1