Miami Dolphins fans continue to debate the state of the team

The Miami Dolphins have made some interesting moves this off-season and now as the season is about to start, the state of the team is being questioned.

So, as I write this piece, I am increasingly bothered by the negative comments made about the new leadership of the Miami Dolphins, both new GM Chris Grier as well as new coach Brian Flores.

The Dolphins leading up to this past offseason have followed the same pattern and been the stereotypical definition of insanity where they continue the same process and achieve the same result. Consistent 7-9 and 6-10 records are not something that should be strived for.

This offseason saw both Grier and Flores take the reigns of the organization and for the first time in quite a while give the Dolphins “one voice” with their leadership.

We all knew that an actual rebuild was coming after the end of the 2018 season. The question was would the talk be backed up or would they fall into the same routine of falling in love with the flashy new toy mentality that had overtaken previous leadership. How would they manage the salary cap? They currently have 51 million tied up as “dead money” in contracts tied to players that have been released.

Grier and company had to find a way out of that in order to get back to being competitive. With the current plan, the “dead money” will go from 51 million in 2019 to about 3.8 million dollars in 2020. With the 2019 NFL draft, the entire class was incredibly solid and got solid above average (grades of B or better) on all the reviews. It certainly was one of the better drafts that I can remember the Dolphins having.

With the draft in the rearview and in preparation for the season, the team found some undrafted players that made the team on both sides of the ball and decided to pull the trigger on trades that sent favorites Kenny Stills and Laremy Tunsil to the Texans for a substantial haul of picks as well as a couple players that could pay dividends to the team this season. Also, sending Kiko Alonso to the Saints for Vince Beigel was a rare player for player trade.

Both of those moves have certainly added to the unrest of the fanbase, to put it mildly. This year, for fans the team should continue to be supported as in years past and current management should be given the benefit of the doubt to continue with this process and get us on the right path to compete for the playoffs and get back to the Super Bowl.

This process should be given the chance to play out. Will it be a long term rebuild? I don’t believe it will. Will it be an effective rebuild? I believe it will.

While it is a shock to the system to see the trades that send players that are fan and team favorites away, this is a process with no easy switch. Although I wish I knew the “why’s” of a lot of the decisions that have been made, I have faith in what I have seen so far that the Dolphins will emerge from this season in a better place for long term success.

The team is already poised with 13 draft picks in 2020 and nine in 2021. Those draft picks will be where this team is forged and after the first draft of the Grier/Flores era I believe they have at the very least have garnered our support and faith that they will actually build the team the correct way and lead us to the competitive upper echelons of the NFL.