I am half-tempted to put up a link to my hour-long live interview Edward Albee on NPR 20+ years ago in this comment. But it's your substack, sir. Just let me thank you again for injecting high culture tone into your low bridge takedowns of deserving franchises
I admit my untrained eye thought Tua was a good/great QB coming out of college. Alabama back then could fool you with the overwhelming surrounding talent advantage and excellent coaching. On time he can make it happen, but how could I know that he would turn to jelly if he had to go past the first progression? As a Bills fan I will be sad when he and McDaniels are gone.
I am further ashamed to admit that today is my introduction to Nihilist Arby's. I like the dark side. I looked up top 20 Nihilist Arby's tweets. Yikes. I also googled "bird on capybara's head" and it turns out its a thing.
I am just not getting this level of content quality on any other sports site. TDZ is without peer.
Remember, Tua beat out Jalen Hurts as a freshman(!) to become the quarterback for the Tide. So at one point, Tua was far ahead of Hurts, or at least Nick Saban thought so. Now Hurts is a Super Bowl winning QB and MVP candidate, while Tua is fighting for his professional life. Go figure.
If I'm not mistaken -- Saban benched Hurts at halftime during the SEC Championship game, and Tua dominated the 2nd half. I think that's where he won the job.
Like Mike said, I have to think those concussions have had an effect. I hope it just made him skittish and aren’t a sign of cognitive issues.
I guess this just proves I’m not that much of a competitor, but I would have retired after the first scary concussion in the NFL. I personally could live out my life on the proceeds of a first round rookie QB contract.
I think it's the same as when fans talk about how Austin Ekeler should just retire instead of rehabbing his Achilles and trying to return next season. It's really easy for us to imagine lives outside of football, because we're already doing that. For them it's a complete unknown.
It's rare for a player to have the clarity that Andrew Luck did when he walked away. I'm glad that Luke Kuechly did, and I had hoped we would see more of that afterwards.
Fair enough. I’m one of those folks without a real singular passion: I have a lot of hobbies but none that are all-consuming. My career is important to me inasmuch as I need the money. My job isn’t my identity. I do sometimes envy folks with a real passion, though.
Another really good piece, and I say that as a Dolphins fan of nearly forty years.
I don't see how anyone looks at the entirety of this franchise's 21st century and doesn't think Grier is at the heart of a lot of the last decade's marked mediocrity. In broad terms, here's how I would grade his 10 years as GM:
Drafting: He has had some bad whiffs in high rounds, but all GMs do. He's also overseen the picks of some excellent players, including multiple hidden gems in rounds 5 and 6. Grade: B-
Selection of head coaches: Not good. I think Adam Gase was more Ross' pick, but I have to think Grier weighed in pretty heavily. Gase was an interpersonal disaster and not nearly the QB whisperer or offensive genius that he was advertised to be. Brian Flores wasn't a terrible choice, but Grier never reined in Flores's horrible attitude and instincts towards the offensive side of the ball. Nevermind the fact that Grier & Ross clearly wanted to tank hard in 2019 while Flores was obviously of a "we're going to win every game we can" mindset. And now McDaniel. All of these guys would have been fine as coordinators; none had the stuff of head coaches. Grade: D
Free Agent signings & trades: Meh. This is where I suspect Grier's job is easier than a lot of GMs. Stephen Ross is a lot of things, but cheap isn't one of them. He will always cut a fat check to overpay some flashy free agents. And billionaire Ross doesn't mind eating money to get rid of players, through cuts or trades, so Grier doesn't really have to be a cap sorcerer to make moves. They've brought in some decent players, but so few of them actually mesh or stay healthy to make a lasting impact. Grade: C
Ability to rise through ranks & retain GM gig: Stellar. No notes. Grade: A+
Mike nailed it with the Machiavelli comp. I don't know exactly how Grier does it, but I assume it involves knowing exactly how to convince Stephen Ross that he (Grier) is responsible for all of the positive moments of the last decade while all of the negatives are the fault of the coaches (whom he hired) or bad injury luck (overseen by strength and conditioning staffs whom he also hired). The fact that every few years the Fins manage to stumble into a Wildcard berth (in which they've nearly always gotten fully exposed by a legitimate playoff team) seems to give Ross just enough hope that they're just *one or two* personnel moves away from breaking through.
Another element might also be that Ross has at least some level of awareness of his own culpability. The Harbaugh tampering thing. The Brian Flores thing (still ongoing). Ross has hurt his own team by losing them draft picks, so maybe he lacks the spine to fire someone like Grier - now the only person who's been there with him for his entire stint as owner.
It's frustrating. I don't feel like the Dolphins have that "lovable losers" or "so dysfunctional it's amusing" vibe to them, like the Browns or Jets often have had for much of the same time span. Instead, at the end of the day, they're just weirdly average to below average. It's long since gotten old, and the sooner we can move on, the better.
I agree with your post except Grier didn’t pick Gase, Flores or McDaniel. Ross hired them all and all three coaches reported to Ross. All three also had final say on the 53 man roster. This is actually part of Grier’s Machiavellian genius; he didn’t hire the coaches and he doesn’t have final say on the 53 man roster. Ergo the coach is the stooge and gets fired when the team fails while Grier survives like a cockroach.
Good point. I tend to forget how that part of the org chart looks and works. So reassign that D grade for HC selection to Stephen Ross, and that leaves Grier with a C+ average in the job skills required to build a successful NFL team. Seems right for a GM who's overseen teams that nearly always win between 6 and 9 games, with a few Wildcard appearances and zero playoff wins mixed in.
Your other point about Grier's genius does raise a good question: how many other GMs have carved out this kind of position for themselves, where they can avoid so much of the accountability that most other NFL GMs face?
The Eagles never keep an OC more than one season and McDaniel would make a fine replacement. Sirianni's Bircher-level conservatism and Hurts' iron will should keep McDaniel in check and his "there's nothing in the rule book that says a dog can't play slot WR" wackiness could make an interesting dynamic.
Yeah, McDaniel would be interesting in Philly, where he could draw up goofy stuff and pat the guys on the head while Sirianni/Fangio/Howie do the heavy lifting.
This all seems very plausible. It's probably why McDaniel was a really good fit as run game coordinator in SF. That's a great spot for a kooky, smart, sorta cool young guy who can just act like a fun little counterpoint to the "stuffier, more serious" coordinators and head coach.
The Dolphins remind us how important competent ownership is to building a successful an NFL franchise. They'll not escape the tank watch rankings long as Stephen Ross owns the team.
Public ownership works pretty well up in Green Bay. The team is not a rich man's hobby nor is ownership passed to a failson to continue the fans' misery.
....and Ross is equally likely to screw both things up.
As a Bills fan, I love the rest of the AFC East's ownership. Even Kraft doesn't seems as functional as he used to be, though losing two GOATs will do that to you.
It's such a bummer that it's only week 3 and we're already here, where the most suspenseful thing for us Dolphins fans is who/how Ross will fire and hire once McDaniel gets the axe.
There's always that off chance that a team catches the Bills in one of those weird little "play down to the competition" malaises that they slip into for a few weeks every season, but I'm not betting on it for Miami this week. Buffalo has come out swinging so far. They haven't been perfect, but they still look pretty locked in.
"snapped a football over Drake Maye’s head late in the fourth quarter"
Get it right, Statboy! Bradbury decided to hike a slow-roller up the first base line instead of back to the pitcher for reasons known only to him and whatever cross-eyed god he prays to.
With the difference being the Cowboys have gotten 20 years of pro-bowl caliber QB play from an UDFA (Romo) and a 4th rounder (Dak). In other words, BLIND LUCK (though Jerry would be glad to tell you in between sips of Johnnie Walker Blue why he should get credit for both Romo and Dak).
"You are seven-figure, high-profile management. Act like it."
This x1000.
I've never thought McDaniel had the professionalism necessary to be the leader of an organization. And there's nothing wrong with that. Most of us don't! But if you're going to attempt to be a leader, you have to at least try to be a professional. You might even find that you're good at it.
It's kind of like when you find out that a slacker you went to high school with is now a hardworking, successful business person with two kids and a minivan, and you marvel at how much they've matured. From the moment he was hired, we've been waiting to see that from McDaniel. It ain't happening.
The Dolphins’ implosion is fascinating. Also fascinating: the James Hudson III one-man crime spree on the first drive Sunday. Four penalties, including two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties all on one drive? I don’t have access to such stats, but that seems like it ought to be some sort of record.
Unfortunately, I can't argue with anything you've written MT. The only (relatively minor) issues you really didn't mention are 1) A history of giving "extended scholarships" to draft busts, rather than cutting bait once it becomes clear that they are simply not good football players. Noah Igbinoghene, Channing Tindall, and Cam Smith were all high draft picks, and they lingered on the roster for far too long, rather than being cut. Not all draft picks are winners, but you need to cut bait on the bad picks to let the players know that no one is untouchable simply because they were a high draft pick. 2) Again and again, they sign aging (and often, injured veterans) who eat up salary dollars and block the development of young players and draftees. Local sports radio calls it the 401K plan where aging vets sign with Miami for low taxes, good weather, and low expectations. Witness OGJ, Jordan Poyer, Waller etc. just to name a few from the past two years. As an aside, last year about midway into the season Grier admitted that he KNEW OBJ was injured BEFORE he signed him and that he would start the season on IR. WTF is up with that? Sure, signings such as Calais Campbell and Jonnu work out, but for everyone one of these, there are multiple bad signings. Sigh :(
Too right about keeping those high draft busts too long. I'm no expert, but my hunch is that if a 1st or 2nd round pick isn't showing that he isn't at least a solid rotation player by year 2, then it's time to trade him to some other desperate, dysfunctional team. Or just cut them.
And yeah, those oft-injured vets on holiday. Too many to count.
I am half-tempted to put up a link to my hour-long live interview Edward Albee on NPR 20+ years ago in this comment. But it's your substack, sir. Just let me thank you again for injecting high culture tone into your low bridge takedowns of deserving franchises
OMG that must have been wild!
It was a pretty easy interview ... the man loved to talk and I just let him rip.
I admit my untrained eye thought Tua was a good/great QB coming out of college. Alabama back then could fool you with the overwhelming surrounding talent advantage and excellent coaching. On time he can make it happen, but how could I know that he would turn to jelly if he had to go past the first progression? As a Bills fan I will be sad when he and McDaniels are gone.
I am further ashamed to admit that today is my introduction to Nihilist Arby's. I like the dark side. I looked up top 20 Nihilist Arby's tweets. Yikes. I also googled "bird on capybara's head" and it turns out its a thing.
I am just not getting this level of content quality on any other sports site. TDZ is without peer.
A couple of near-death experiences on the field will make anyone a little skittish
Remember, Tua beat out Jalen Hurts as a freshman(!) to become the quarterback for the Tide. So at one point, Tua was far ahead of Hurts, or at least Nick Saban thought so. Now Hurts is a Super Bowl winning QB and MVP candidate, while Tua is fighting for his professional life. Go figure.
If I'm not mistaken -- Saban benched Hurts at halftime during the SEC Championship game, and Tua dominated the 2nd half. I think that's where he won the job.
Like Mike said, I have to think those concussions have had an effect. I hope it just made him skittish and aren’t a sign of cognitive issues.
I guess this just proves I’m not that much of a competitor, but I would have retired after the first scary concussion in the NFL. I personally could live out my life on the proceeds of a first round rookie QB contract.
I think it's the same as when fans talk about how Austin Ekeler should just retire instead of rehabbing his Achilles and trying to return next season. It's really easy for us to imagine lives outside of football, because we're already doing that. For them it's a complete unknown.
It's rare for a player to have the clarity that Andrew Luck did when he walked away. I'm glad that Luke Kuechly did, and I had hoped we would see more of that afterwards.
I think it’s a little different in that I personally fear cognitive decline far more than physical pain.
It's not about fear, it's about choosing to walk away from something that defines your life. That's extremely difficult for anyone to do.
Fair enough. I’m one of those folks without a real singular passion: I have a lot of hobbies but none that are all-consuming. My career is important to me inasmuch as I need the money. My job isn’t my identity. I do sometimes envy folks with a real passion, though.
Depends on how much guaranteed money was involved, but likely yes.
$10 million to invest would do it for me.
Another really good piece, and I say that as a Dolphins fan of nearly forty years.
I don't see how anyone looks at the entirety of this franchise's 21st century and doesn't think Grier is at the heart of a lot of the last decade's marked mediocrity. In broad terms, here's how I would grade his 10 years as GM:
Drafting: He has had some bad whiffs in high rounds, but all GMs do. He's also overseen the picks of some excellent players, including multiple hidden gems in rounds 5 and 6. Grade: B-
Selection of head coaches: Not good. I think Adam Gase was more Ross' pick, but I have to think Grier weighed in pretty heavily. Gase was an interpersonal disaster and not nearly the QB whisperer or offensive genius that he was advertised to be. Brian Flores wasn't a terrible choice, but Grier never reined in Flores's horrible attitude and instincts towards the offensive side of the ball. Nevermind the fact that Grier & Ross clearly wanted to tank hard in 2019 while Flores was obviously of a "we're going to win every game we can" mindset. And now McDaniel. All of these guys would have been fine as coordinators; none had the stuff of head coaches. Grade: D
Free Agent signings & trades: Meh. This is where I suspect Grier's job is easier than a lot of GMs. Stephen Ross is a lot of things, but cheap isn't one of them. He will always cut a fat check to overpay some flashy free agents. And billionaire Ross doesn't mind eating money to get rid of players, through cuts or trades, so Grier doesn't really have to be a cap sorcerer to make moves. They've brought in some decent players, but so few of them actually mesh or stay healthy to make a lasting impact. Grade: C
Ability to rise through ranks & retain GM gig: Stellar. No notes. Grade: A+
Mike nailed it with the Machiavelli comp. I don't know exactly how Grier does it, but I assume it involves knowing exactly how to convince Stephen Ross that he (Grier) is responsible for all of the positive moments of the last decade while all of the negatives are the fault of the coaches (whom he hired) or bad injury luck (overseen by strength and conditioning staffs whom he also hired). The fact that every few years the Fins manage to stumble into a Wildcard berth (in which they've nearly always gotten fully exposed by a legitimate playoff team) seems to give Ross just enough hope that they're just *one or two* personnel moves away from breaking through.
Another element might also be that Ross has at least some level of awareness of his own culpability. The Harbaugh tampering thing. The Brian Flores thing (still ongoing). Ross has hurt his own team by losing them draft picks, so maybe he lacks the spine to fire someone like Grier - now the only person who's been there with him for his entire stint as owner.
It's frustrating. I don't feel like the Dolphins have that "lovable losers" or "so dysfunctional it's amusing" vibe to them, like the Browns or Jets often have had for much of the same time span. Instead, at the end of the day, they're just weirdly average to below average. It's long since gotten old, and the sooner we can move on, the better.
I forgot to add a graf about Grier late in editing:
His specialty appears to be demolition the last guy's roster, not really building his own.
I agree with your post except Grier didn’t pick Gase, Flores or McDaniel. Ross hired them all and all three coaches reported to Ross. All three also had final say on the 53 man roster. This is actually part of Grier’s Machiavellian genius; he didn’t hire the coaches and he doesn’t have final say on the 53 man roster. Ergo the coach is the stooge and gets fired when the team fails while Grier survives like a cockroach.
Good point. I tend to forget how that part of the org chart looks and works. So reassign that D grade for HC selection to Stephen Ross, and that leaves Grier with a C+ average in the job skills required to build a successful NFL team. Seems right for a GM who's overseen teams that nearly always win between 6 and 9 games, with a few Wildcard appearances and zero playoff wins mixed in.
Your other point about Grier's genius does raise a good question: how many other GMs have carved out this kind of position for themselves, where they can avoid so much of the accountability that most other NFL GMs face?
Chris Ballard (Colts) and until recently Steve Keim (ex Cards). Not counting Mike Brown and Jerrah who are GM/owners and can’t be fired.
I enjoyed a long, thorough reply from a fan of the Dolphins. Thanks for the insights.
Sorry Scott, not even gonna pretend to read
Totally get it. I can get overly verbose when it comes to the Fins, as my wife can attest.
The Eagles never keep an OC more than one season and McDaniel would make a fine replacement. Sirianni's Bircher-level conservatism and Hurts' iron will should keep McDaniel in check and his "there's nothing in the rule book that says a dog can't play slot WR" wackiness could make an interesting dynamic.
Yeah, McDaniel would be interesting in Philly, where he could draw up goofy stuff and pat the guys on the head while Sirianni/Fangio/Howie do the heavy lifting.
This all seems very plausible. It's probably why McDaniel was a really good fit as run game coordinator in SF. That's a great spot for a kooky, smart, sorta cool young guy who can just act like a fun little counterpoint to the "stuffier, more serious" coordinators and head coach.
Sir - I love Josh McDaniels to the Eagles, either within this season or next February.
YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH.
... just sayin' is all...
If he wore capris, big Mike or whatever his name is, would decapitate him.
"there's nothing in the rule book that says a dog can't play slot WR"
My golden is great at catching, but can't jump worth crap. Which probably puts him right in the middle of the pack for PHI's WR3 options.
The Dolphins remind us how important competent ownership is to building a successful an NFL franchise. They'll not escape the tank watch rankings long as Stephen Ross owns the team.
Strongly agree. There is a reason so many teams do little more than fluctuate between "wild card hopeful" and "top-five draft pick."
As for Miami, I'll just say that I always liked McDaniel and Tagovailoa and I'm bummed things haven't worked out for them.
Public ownership works pretty well up in Green Bay. The team is not a rich man's hobby nor is ownership passed to a failson to continue the fans' misery.
Hatching a Jaylen Waddle/Storm Duck trade is the only way out
As a Dolphins fan, I'd love to push back on any of this. However, this is a bin fire so it's impossible to do so.
Of all the things listed, SWERVE BELICHECK is #1. Closely followed by get a matched GM/HC set
....and Ross is equally likely to screw both things up.
As a Bills fan, I love the rest of the AFC East's ownership. Even Kraft doesn't seems as functional as he used to be, though losing two GOATs will do that to you.
It's such a bummer that it's only week 3 and we're already here, where the most suspenseful thing for us Dolphins fans is who/how Ross will fire and hire once McDaniel gets the axe.
Mike I thoroughly enjoy your writing. It's perspicacious, funny and cerebral. Just wanted to express my appreciation.
"I hope to see him playing in Podunk indoor football startup leagues and racing against ostriches in Dubai for alimony when he’s 49 years old".
That's no way to characterize the future livelihood of "at least 12**" kids' father lol
**Source: Google AI
That’s disturbing since the targets of his anger issues are almost exclusively pregnant women and children
"Hide yo kids, hide yo wife"- Antoine Dodson
I have my doubts that McDaniel makes it to us flipping the calendar … especially if Thursday night is as ugly as it has the potential to be.
There's always that off chance that a team catches the Bills in one of those weird little "play down to the competition" malaises that they slip into for a few weeks every season, but I'm not betting on it for Miami this week. Buffalo has come out swinging so far. They haven't been perfect, but they still look pretty locked in.
I might tune in for the start of the third quarter, just to see if McDaniel is fired / quits during halftime.
"snapped a football over Drake Maye’s head late in the fourth quarter"
Get it right, Statboy! Bradbury decided to hike a slow-roller up the first base line instead of back to the pitcher for reasons known only to him and whatever cross-eyed god he prays to.
Also, just came up in my FB memories from 2023: "The Dolphins coach is Vector from the first Minions movie."
I only saw part of the Fins-Pats game, so assumed Tanier was referencing a different botched snap.
Either that or Tanier thinks the NE offense makes Maye take snaps while standing in a 7-foot hole, which is only true metaphorically.
The Dolphins are the AFC Cowboys.......once elite, now irrelevant.
With the difference being the Cowboys have gotten 20 years of pro-bowl caliber QB play from an UDFA (Romo) and a 4th rounder (Dak). In other words, BLIND LUCK (though Jerry would be glad to tell you in between sips of Johnnie Walker Blue why he should get credit for both Romo and Dak).
"You are seven-figure, high-profile management. Act like it."
This x1000.
I've never thought McDaniel had the professionalism necessary to be the leader of an organization. And there's nothing wrong with that. Most of us don't! But if you're going to attempt to be a leader, you have to at least try to be a professional. You might even find that you're good at it.
It's kind of like when you find out that a slacker you went to high school with is now a hardworking, successful business person with two kids and a minivan, and you marvel at how much they've matured. From the moment he was hired, we've been waiting to see that from McDaniel. It ain't happening.
I'll miss his bonkers press conferences, though.
The Dolphins’ implosion is fascinating. Also fascinating: the James Hudson III one-man crime spree on the first drive Sunday. Four penalties, including two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties all on one drive? I don’t have access to such stats, but that seems like it ought to be some sort of record.
Unfortunately, I can't argue with anything you've written MT. The only (relatively minor) issues you really didn't mention are 1) A history of giving "extended scholarships" to draft busts, rather than cutting bait once it becomes clear that they are simply not good football players. Noah Igbinoghene, Channing Tindall, and Cam Smith were all high draft picks, and they lingered on the roster for far too long, rather than being cut. Not all draft picks are winners, but you need to cut bait on the bad picks to let the players know that no one is untouchable simply because they were a high draft pick. 2) Again and again, they sign aging (and often, injured veterans) who eat up salary dollars and block the development of young players and draftees. Local sports radio calls it the 401K plan where aging vets sign with Miami for low taxes, good weather, and low expectations. Witness OGJ, Jordan Poyer, Waller etc. just to name a few from the past two years. As an aside, last year about midway into the season Grier admitted that he KNEW OBJ was injured BEFORE he signed him and that he would start the season on IR. WTF is up with that? Sure, signings such as Calais Campbell and Jonnu work out, but for everyone one of these, there are multiple bad signings. Sigh :(
Too right about keeping those high draft busts too long. I'm no expert, but my hunch is that if a 1st or 2nd round pick isn't showing that he isn't at least a solid rotation player by year 2, then it's time to trade him to some other desperate, dysfunctional team. Or just cut them.
And yeah, those oft-injured vets on holiday. Too many to count.
In September of 2023, I thought the Dolphins were going to be really good.