If Miami Dolphins fans are going to be real with themselves, they have to realize that this roster has a lot of holes and not a lot of ways to fix them. It's going to be a couple of tough years ahead.
Champ Kelly is likely to remain the general manager once Stephen Ross removes the interim tag. He was brought in for a reason, and Ross likes people he can trust. Add to the fact that the Dolphins owner would love to avoid another round of interviews and hires, and Kelly seems to be safe.
Ahead of the game in Madrid, Kelly spoke with the media for the first time since taking over the job from Chris Grier. He spoke on a lot of issues, including how to build a winning roster. Fans are cuing up the "I've seen this movie before, and I don't like the ending."
Champ Kelly believes the Dolphins' roster needs to be built through the NFL Draft
Despite being the repeated rhetoric from just about every NFL GM, the reality is that it is true. Good teams get better by batting more than .500 with their draft picks. The Dolphins have not been .500 in the last 9 years.
Kelly may want to say this, but if he does stick around next year with the team, he also knows that he doesn't have $100 million in cap space to spend on free agents. He will inherit a roster that is a mess and dotted with holes. There may be building block pieces on the team, but he will have his hands full.
The draft is a good place to start, but he will learn quickly that he can't wait for it. Free agency will hit first, with the draft following a month later. Kelly should hope he realizes one thing from Grier: waiting until the draft to fill all your needs doesn't typically work out the way you hope.
Miami has reached on players for years because they failed to address areas in free agency, and then inevitably, a top-ranked player is taken off the board before them. If Kelly sticks around, he can't afford to make that mistake, even if it is the right mistake to make.