On Friday morning, the Miami Dolphins announced that the organization was parting ways with long-time general manager (GM) Chris Grier. The move came roughly 12 hours after the Dolphins lost 28-6 to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, falling to 2-7 on the season and further down the standings.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said that it was a mutual decision between him and Grier to have him leave after nine years as GM.
“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,” Ross said in his statement. “We must improve — in 2025, 2026 and beyond — and it needs to start right now.
“I have always been and remain committed to building a winning team that consistently competes for championships. I am incredibly proud of our leadership as an NFL organization and our continued commitment to the community, but our performance on the field and our team-building process have not been good enough. There are no excuses.”
In addition to his time as GM, Grier spent 25 years total with the organization as a scout and director of college scouting. Ironically enough, Miami hasn’t won a playoff game in 25 years. During Grier’s tenure, the Dolphins went 77-80 and made the playoffs three times but failed to win a playoff game.
Taking over on an interim basis is Champ Kelly, who joined Miami in March as a senior personnel executive. Before joining the Dolphins, Kelly was the assistant GM for the Las Vegas Raiders from 2022-2024 where he also served as interim GM in 2023.
Next Steps For The Miami Dolphins
With Grier gone from the team, the question becomes, what will the Dolphins do next? Many expected Mike McDaniel to also be shown the door, but reports have surfaced suggesting that he’ll at least finish out the 2025 season as head coach.
If McDaniel is staying, which may or may not happen depending on how the next few weeks go, the logical next step would be to look at the roster.
Miami has talented players, but the on-field success just hasn’t been there.
They have a quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa that they are financially committed to. While there are ways to try and limit the dead cap hit should they move on from him after this season, finding someone to play ball might seem like an impossible task for whoever is hired to run the team. And letting him go entirely is out of the question, as even a post-June 1 release would carry $67.4 million in dead money. In reality, the earliest they could get out of the deal without a trade would be 2027, when the penalty for a post-June 1 designation would be just $13.4 million.
But that’s in the long term. What about right now? The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 4, and Miami has 27 players with contracts set to expire after this season and another eight that expire after 2026. While many aren’t likely to be moved, some names could fetch draft picks and other assets for a team likely entering a major rebuild.
Short Term Opportunities
The biggest name of the expiring contracts is Jaelan Phillips. Phillips is in the final year of his rookie deal and has been looking for a new deal. He lost back-to-back seasons due to injuries, but pass rusher is a prime position. A team looking for help is likely going to be willing to see if they can get him in now to see if he fits before committing the money that he’ll get on the open market.
Other players with deals coming up soon that could be traded are Matthew Judon and even the recently reacquired Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Looking at players with more term on their contract, two big names that come to mind are wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and edge rusher Bradley Chubb.
At 27 years old and under contract through 2028, Waddle is likely the biggest prize for any team looking to make a deal. However, as of now, Miami is telling teams they aren’t interested in trading the receiver. Then again, everyone has a price, even if it’s for a player a team really likes.
With Chubb, there’s been no update on whether the team would be interested in trading him. However, like Phillips, he’s at a prime position where a contender looking to get over the hump could offer up more than enough to get a deal done. Chubb has just four sacks and nine hurries this season, but in a different environment, he could prove to be a difference-maker.
Either way, seeing one of Chubb or Phillips dealt would likely open the door for second-year man Chop Robinson to get more snaps, allowing the team to see if he’s ready to take on a bigger role. It feels almost like a forgone conclusion that at least one of them will be on a different team this time next week.
No matter what the team decides to do, Kelly has more on his plate than most interim GMs usually have. The moves he chooses to make or not make could go a long way toward whether he stays in contention for the full-time GM position. This really is a trial by fire.
For the rest of the team, this should also be seen as an audition. Not only for possibly remaining on the Miami Dolphins roster, but for another team that may want to add them in the future.