Jeff Darlington: “Grier Never on Hot Seat!”

The good and bad side, if this report is true

On the Dive Bar Report Jeff Darlington, who has real connection in the Dolphins headquarters, said he recently found out neither Chris Grier nor Mike McDaniel never even came close to a hotseat this season. This is troubling because the game of football is all about competition and always being on the ‘hotseat’ to produce now.

Grier is entering his tenth season and hasn’t won a single playoff game and is long past the shelf life of a GM with his track record–at least with the rest of the NFL. This season Grier’s fingerprints were all over the 2024 debacle with poor management of the backup quarterback position and offensive line. This why Grier not ever getting close to losing his job isn’t great news for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in over twenty years! But, while there is mostly bad news in this, there is a razor thin sliver of a positive

Are we really trying to win in Miami?

The bad news is clear: if team follow leadership, then the lack of accountability at the top will trickle down. And it has with all the disfunction from players not doing what they should in missing meeting and being late to them. It also means that Grier operates like there is always a tomorrow and that there isn’t a real motivation for success… or else.

I dug deep into this ugly news in my podcast because football is ALL about hotseats and fear of losing your job to drive you to be the best you can be. So, I’ll deal with a piece of the puzzle I didn’t discuss on Miami’s poor way of doing football business.

Poor backup quarterback play crippled the 2024 Season and Grier, in the ‘worst year wrap up presser eva’, talked about not wanting to invest in a higher tier backup because he didn’t want to lose a conditional draft pick. This type of talk comes from a guy who knows his job isn’t at risk and he’s willing to gamble a whole season on a conditional draft pick! You sure bet with the best pay per heads that if he worried about job security, he’d of pulled the trigger. So, he sacrificed a whole season on a dicey gamble because he knows he’s Teflon.

This is just one fallout in not being driven to win now at the top of the food chain. There are many others we know about and likely even more we don’t. This is a very bad sign for those hoping that the Phins will rise to the top. If the more talented and better coached teams are driven for success at the highest level, then how can Miami hope to reach the top of the hill coasting?

Grier has been known to reach… and miss big time

The only good aspect to this lack of serious football mode of operation is at least with this 13th Overall Pick Grier won’t be forced to reach because he isn’t all in on this season. Grier has reached too many times and flopped. We can’t squander this pick. The Dolphins have tons of needs, but we can’t miss on a star to fill holes because this team isn’t a few players away from reaching the top.

The 13th pick must find a stud for this roster to be a key Dolphins for years to come, unless we trade back. Who that player is and what position, it’s hard to say until the draft shakes out to our pick. Obviously offensive line is key, but it must be the right one… not just someone to check off the check list. If the right player is an offensive lineman at #13, then so be it, but if it isn’t, then so be it also.

At the very least, if Grier is a lifer, then the scant bright side is he might not draft in desperation and screw it up. Of course, the smart move isn’t a good roll of the dice with Grier. As terrible as it is being stuck with Grier, let’s at least hope this time he makes good because we desperately need something to make us proud! Go Phins!!!