The Dolphins are making a change in leadership.
After a 2-7 start -- their worst since 2021 -- Miami has mutually agreed to part ways with general manager Chris Grier, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Friday. The team has since announced the news.
"As I assessed the state of the team and in my discussions with Chris, it became clear to both of us that change could not wait," Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross said in a statement. "We must improve -- in 2025, 2026 and beyond -- and it needs to start right now."
Veteran personnel man Champ Kelly will serve as interim general manager, the second such time he's replaced a GM during a season (he assumed the role vacated by Dave Ziegler in Las Vegas in 2023).
"I want to thank Champ for stepping up and his commitment to the Dolphins success this season," Ross said. "There is a lot of football left to play and we all need to fight even harder."
Grier had been the GM in Miami since 2016. The Dolphins compiled a 77-80 record with Grier at the helm, appearing in the playoffs three times but achieving no postseason wins.
What led to Grier's firing?
While somewhat surprising, a change felt inevitable for Miami. The decision comes on the heels of the Dolphins' lopsided loss to the Ravens on Thursday night in a game in which Miami's self-inflicted errors prevented them from keeping pace with Baltimore, much to the dismay of the home crowd at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Week 9 defeat was only the latest in a tumultuous campaign in which Miami has vacillated between appearing disinterested or battling competitively. Just one week earlier, the Dolphins traveled to Atlanta and dominated the Falcons, 34-10, proving they were still capable of such a performance a mere seven days after crumbling in a loss to the lowly Browns in Cleveland.
Grier's dismissal is about more than just a few ugly losses. Despite offering promising potential, Miami has consistently failed to live up to expectations over the last four years -- the span of time that defines the Mike McDaniel era -- reaching the playoffs twice in 2022 and 2023 but falling in the Wild Card Round in both appearances.
Their struggles in 2024 could be blamed on Tua Tagovailoa's extended absence; 2025, however, included Tagovailoa and the product was much worse, leading many to expect the Dolphins to fire McDaniel after their Week 7 loss to Cleveland.
McDaniel remains employed, coaching a team constructed by Grier, Miami's general manager for nearly a decade. Ultimately, Grier's most recent attempt to mold the Dolphins into a winner proved fruitless and prompted change.
A full commitment to McDaniel's ambitious, creative offense saw Grier swing a blockbuster deal for receiver Tyreek Hill, pairing the ex-Chief with 2021 first-round receiver Jaylen Waddle with the hopes of creating a consistently explosive offense. At first, the efforts paid off: Miami finished first in total yards per game, averaged the second-most points scored per game (29.2) and won 11 games in 2023 before slamming into a brick wall in the form of those Chiefs in a wild-card defeat at a frigid Arrowhead Stadium.
Miami failed to repeat such success in 2024, falling short of the postseason in an injury-marred campaign that exposed its roster deficiencies and placed an immense amount of pressure on the organization entering 2025. The effects were visible from the outset of the season; Miami appeared unmotivated in a blowout loss to the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 1, and depending on the week, the Dolphins often seemed as if playing football had become a chore.
Hill's season-ending injury suffered in a Week 4 win over the AFC East rival New York Jets only increased the challenge. Without Hill, Miami's passing attack depended on Waddle and veteran tight end Darren Waller, who unretired to play for the Dolphins and made an immediate impact before health issues sidelined him, too.
With the Dolphins reeling from yet another disheartening showing, Grier was shown the door, ending a stint that lasted nine and a half seasons and included his decision to hire three different head coaches: Adam Gase, Brian Flores and McDaniel.
Grier hired Gase just five days after he was promoted to general manager. After posting a 10-6 record in his debut season, Gase's hiring eventually proved disastrous, leading to two straight losing seasons before he was dismissed at the end of the 2018 campaign.
Grier replaced Gase with Flores, a former defensive coordinator who brought the New England Patriots' disciplined culture to Miami and reaped the rewards in year two with his own 10-6 season in 2020. That tenure ended amid tension between staff and front office, though, prompting Grier to replace Flores with McDaniel in 2022. McDaniel followed a similar trend, achieving success in year two before regressing in the next two seasons while leading a roster that didn't offer the same optimism as in previous years.
Where do Dolphins go from here?
Grier's connection to Tagovailoa cannot be overlooked. Grier spent the fifth-overall pick on the Alabama product in the 2020 NFL Draft, one selection ahead of where the Chargers drafted Justin Herbert. The two have long been connected because of their draft order, and while Tagovailoa has been more than adequate when the Dolphins were peaking, the choice has not aged well, especially when juxtaposed with the relative success Herbert has enjoyed in Los Angeles.
If Miami dismisses McDaniel at or before the end of the 2025 season -- an outcome still widely suspected -- it's possible to envision a future without Tagovailoa, either in 2026 or beyond. The decision wouldn't be shocking by any means but would represent a failure on the part of the Dolphins' front office, which signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million extension in 2024.
The 2025 season is only the first in Tagovailoa's deal, which carries a dead money total of $45.2 million if the Dolphins were to trade him before June 1, 2026. It could soon be viewed as a financial albatross.
Grier's departure is only the first step in addressing the many struggles plaguing Miami. Plenty remains to be sorted out, especially with the Nov. 4 trade deadline looming.
With Miami struggling and little hope of a turnaround in sight, most expected the Dolphins to consider trading away key talent in order to jumpstart a rebuild. The Dolphins have received trade calls on a host of notable players -- Waddle, edge rushers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, plus veterans Matt Judon and Rasul Douglas -- but were unwilling to make a deal in recent weeks, per Pelissero.
Now that Grier is out and Kelly is in charge in an interim role, the Dolphins could get busy with the deadline approaching Tuesday.