The Miami Dolphins' problems start and end with Chris Grier. Stephen Ross put his trust in the wrong person, and this week, he gave yet another reason for fans to loathe him.
Grier's press conference brought to light that Jalen Ramsey didn't ask to be traded or for more money. So why are the Dolphins "mutually" exploring trade options? How exactly would that have become a situation if Ramsey hadn't come to the Dolphins with demands?
We can also check off the fact that Grier, 10 years into his role as GM, makes all the personnel decisions and doesn't know who his leaders are. He mentioned Zach Sieler, followed by a long pause, as he scrambled to name Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Alec Ingold. He even mentioned Austin Jackson but not Tua Tagovailoa or Jordyn Brooks.
OK, fine, he was caught off guard, but Grier's choice of words about winning, joke or not, left a sour taste and a much bitter aftertaste.
"No, but listen, Mike (McDaniel) and I want to win probably more than you guys in here, just to get you guys off our backs," Grier said.
Great, that's motivation to put together a team that is going to not only compete but actually win. We can hear the locker room speech now, "Hey guys, go out there and give your all! Not for me, not for Stephen Ross. Not because losing absolutely sucks and winning is the only thing that matters. No, gentleman, go out there and win so the media and fans will get off our backs!"
Are you ready to run through a wall yet or just into one?
Chris Grier finally looked like the dejected GM he has been made out to be
Grier looked lost at the podium. He began by saying he was going to talk about the Jalen Ramsey situation, indicating there was more he was going to say in his opening statement, but instead, he abruptly ended his opening to take questions from the press.
His answers were not as thought out as he would normally have projected. He wasn't smiling as much as he used to, nor was he stoic as he had often been. This was a man who seemed lost.
Grier's comments about winning may have been a joke, but no one is laughing.
No one is amused anymore when the team that only six years ago imploded the roster to rebuild has nothing to show for it. They didn't do a good job, and sometime in the second year of that rebuild, Grier and Ross decided it was time to throw away draft picks and money to bring big-name players onto the roster.
Grier said that he knows fans and the media want him fired. Not because he reads it himself, but because his wife keeps him grounded by telling him what the outside world is saying. Maybe she should be telling Ross instead.