Dolphins may not make the playoffs but questions are being answered
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins road to the postseason is going to be long and one hiccup could put the nail in their coffin. Still, a five game winning streak is helping to answer questions about the team.
There have been plenty of questions this year from the future of Tua Tagovailoa to the futures of both Brian Flores and Chris Grier but no matter what happens now, we might have a better idea of how this plays out moving forward.
The biggest remaining question is the future of Tua Tagovailoa. Will he be around to start the 2022 season? That’s a question that none of us can answer with any certainty. The truth is that no matter what we believe to have been fact in terms of the Deshaun Watson rumors, they are not going to go away once the season is over. In fact, barring an entry into the post season and maybe even a win by Tua, the talk will resurface.
Will anything happen with Watson and the Dolphins? No idea but if Miami was close enough to pull the trigger that Stephen Ross wanted to speak with him prior to the trade deadline, then we have to be aware that Miami could still move on from Tua. This is one of the big questions left unanswered and we won’t get an answer until March at the earliest.
The future of Brian Flores is a lot less muddy now. The Dolphins could fall flat the rest of the year and Flores will be safe. He has turned around a defense that was sputtering through the first half of the season. Some believe that he has taken over the defensive play calling. If that is true, it has made a huge difference.
Xavien Howard told media that the Dolphins were playing like they were last year, system and scheme-wise. There has been a marked difference on that side of the ball since the Ravens upset.
Flores has proven he can coach at this level and while he still has a lot to learn, he may be one of those coaches that just needs a little more time. He has to get the offense fixed because the dual OC approach isn’t working and the Dolphins offense remains consistently inconsistent.
That brings us to Chris Grier. Miami fans were calling for him to be fired mid-season and while many fans still maintain that line of thinking, Grier’s 2021 draft is looking amazing and that alone is enough to keep him safe for another season.
I would venture to guess that in the hierarchy of who will be on the hot seat first that Grier would find his chair warmer than Flores will. Grier still has to fix the offensive line without question and he needs to invest a lot of money in that area. He also is going to make a lot of fans mad if he doesn’t get Mike Gesicki and Emmanuel Ogbah back under contract after the season.
Grier’s biggest problems is that he doesn’t hit often with his free agent signings and that too needs to change but for now, Grier is off that warmed seat and back in the drivers chair. Not that in Stephen Ross’ eyes he ever was in jeopardy.