The other day, I was at my doctor’s office, and as I was checking in, I was asked if I thought the Miami Dolphins would be good next year. I took a brief pause and said no. She asked me why. I said because the Dolphins are running it back with the same general manager, Chris Grier, and head coach, Mike McDaniel, who have had the same issues with personnel and areas of needs the last few years and have failed to address them so why would I think things would be different this offseason?
This season was very frustrating for me as a fan because I had expectations for this season with this team after going to the playoffs in the previous two seasons. However, in the preseason, I saw areas of concern and had a bad feeling about things. I always have a bad feeling about things before the season starts because you never know what can happen, but this year was different. It was clear in the preseason that the Dolphins didn’t have a competent backup quarterback, and I wrote last August that if Tua Tagovailoa went down, the Dolphins would be screwed, and it turned out to be right. The Dolphins had issues on the offensive and defensive lines with depth, and that contributed, especially the offensive line.
The Dolphins signed Jordan Poyer, and it was clear that he was done as a player. Of course, Shaq Barrett retired before training camp started. I also felt the defense would struggle with a pass rush due to Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips rehabbing from season-ending injuries from the end of 2023, which was correct, but the defense played as well as they could without a pass rush.
Then the Dolphins started the season, eking out a 20-17 season-opening win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game that they should have lost. Then the Dolphins got humiliated on their own home field in a Thursday Night prime time game against the hated Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins played so badly that I couldn’t watch the 2nd half, and of course, they lost Tagovailoa to a concussion for a month, and the season was basically over. The Dolphins struggled then had their moments to give you hope, but only to break your heart.
The Dolphins had back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. Last year they had one of the most talented teams that they have had in a long time and had the top-rated offense in the NFL so where did things go wrong so fast?
The Dolphins started the 2022 season with an 8-3 and had the inside track to the division title, but then five games in a row and lost Tagovailoa toward the end of that streak for the season with a concussion and barely made the playoffs with a season finale win over the New York Jets. The Dolphins played a good game with a backup quarterback in the wildcard game against the Bills in Buffalo and probably should have won the game. The Dolphins ran back the team and figured it was due to Tagovailoa’s injury. The Dolphins started 9-3 and had a 3-game lead over the Bills going into December, but the team choked down the stretch, starting with a collapse on a Monday Night game against the Tennessee Titans in which the Dolphins were up by two touchdowns with 3 minutes to play.
They then got humiliated by the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, setting up a winner-take-all for the division against the Bills in Miami. The Dolphins lost the game and the division in one of the biggest late-season meltdowns for this franchise that I can ever remember. The Dolphins did have injuries at key players like Chubb, Phillips, Robert Hunt, and Jevon Holland, however they still had Tagovailoa as he played a full 17 game season, and he couldn’t lift his team. The Dolphins got humiliated in the wild-card round by the Kansas City Chiefs 26-7. The Dolphins lost key players this off-season, like Christian Wilkins, Hunt, Brandon Jones, and others, so the Dolphins had a different look, and that is where things took a turn on the roster.
Grier had a talented roster of players he drafted, like Wilkins, Hunt, Jones, and Andrew Van Ginkel, but due to salary cap issues, the Dolphins couldn’t afford them. This was partly due to the Dolphins trading for Tyreek Hill and giving him a big contract, as well as Chubb and taking on Jalen Ramsey‘s contract. The thing is, letting these guys get to free agency shouldn’t have happened. Grier should have tried to resign these guys or at least a few of them ahead of time. The problem with Grier is he drafts players and a lot of them don’t get to a second contract. If Grier had started the process after 2022, maybe the Dolphins could have kept some of those guys.
Yes, Wilkins and Hunt got huge contracts and overpaid, but Hunt was the best lineman, and Wilkins performed and brought energy and leadership to the team that was hard to replace. On top of that, Grier’s plan to replace those players was awful. Poyer replaced Jones, and he is clearly done. Benito Jones replaced Wilkins, and there was a major drop-off. Hunt was replaced with Liam Eichenberg and again a drop off. Barrett was signed to help ease the loss of Van Ginkel, but we know how that turned out and the sad thing is that Van Ginkel signed with the Minnesota Vikings for about the same amount of money or just a little more upfront. One difference between the Bills, who had a similar rebuilding process, is that they get ahead of the curve and sign their own free agents. Yes, they have MVP Josh Allen, but it helps when you keep your homegrown talent.
The other thing is Grier had a bunch of picks from 2019-2021 to rebuild this roster. In recent years, he traded away premium picks for players like Tyreek Hill, Chubb, and Ramsey. They are talented players, but they also got contracts, and they have performed, however, the problem is the Dolphins didn’t have a lot of picks in 2022 and 2023 and the picks they made weren’t good. The Dolphins didn’t get any talent in those drafts, and with the free agent losses from last year, the lack of restocking the talent is coming back to bite the Dolphins as they have signed older players to one-year deals and got not much in return.
Grier also doesn’t address the obvious needs the team has, such as a backup quarterback. It was so clear in the summer that the Dolphins didn’t have one, and he didn’t do anything about it, and you saw the results when Tagovailoa went down. He also failed to upgrade the offensive and defensive lines with the free-agent losses. He relies too much on less durable players, such as Terron Armstead, or less talented players, such as Benito Jones, Robert Jones, and Eichenberg. Grier said it’s time to invest in the offensive line this offseason, but it’s been a hole for years why should I trust him?
The Dolphins also needed a big physical running back. The Dolphins offense is built on speed, but they need some physicality not just upfront but also at running back to compliment the speed guys. The Dolphins have been one of the worst short-yardage teams over the years, and he doesn’t value running backs. The Dolphins need a bigger back to get to get the short yardage this offense needs.
Then comes head coach Mike McDaniel. He has brought a very good, structured offense that relies on speed and big plays. His offense certainly delivered one of the most exciting offenses the team has been looking for since Dan Marino. McDaniel deserves a lot of credit for it, but the offense fell off a cliff this year, and the reason is because teams have caught up to his offense. They play a lot of 2 deep safety to prevent the big plays, and the big plays weren’t there this year.
McDaniel didn’t make the proper adjustments during the season. His playcalling is also beyond head-scratching. He constantly throws the ball too much and doesn’t commit to the running game. It’s one reason teams don’t look at the Dolphins as a serious threat because they lack physicality. When the Dolphins play playoff teams, their offense shrinks and doesn’t perform in big spots especially from their better players like Tagovailoa, Hill, and Jaylen Waddle.
The biggest thing with McDaniel is he entitles his players way too much, coddles them, and doesn’t hold them accountable. When I read that players are showing up late to meetings and not putting in the time, which the coach didn’t deny in his season-ending press conference, it shows a lack of leadership from the head coach, and that’s a major problem. He said he learned fines don’t work.
Yeah, no kidding.
How about showing some accountability and growing a backbone to these players instead of entitling them. The problem is that he’s been here 3 years and players know that he’s on the hot seat and if he changes, then the players will tune him out. It’s basically the reason I wanted to see the Dolphins change their head coach.
All of these reasons are why I feel the Dolphins are a sinking ship and why I feel they have missed their opportunity to contend for a title. I could be wrong about this and if I am I will be the first to admit that, but the fact is I have lost confidence in this regime.
McDaniel is clearly way over his head as the head coach and it shows in big games and his lack of accountability with the players in his locker room. Grier is too nice as a general manager and needs to stop catering to his head coaches and grow a backbone. He also lacks vision as to the way he has put together this team. He can’t keep his homegrown talent, doesn’t see the clear deficiencies on this roster, and doesn’t put his foot down on certain things. I feel Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is waiting a year late to make a change to this regime, and his not seeing what we are all seeing is concerning, too. I think we will be in the same boat next year and be looking for a new general manager and head coach to start over again.
Again, I could be wrong on this assessment, but it is how I feel about this team and the humbling season and looking at other teams getting better makes me think that the Dolphins missed their opportunity and are set for another reboot in another year.
