Dolphins, general manager Chris Grier mutually agree to part ways; Champ Kelly to serve as interim GM
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.
