Eye-popping Chris Grier stats can't explain how he still has a job with Dolphins
By Brian Miller
Imagine having a job that pays you a lot of money, but doesn't require you to be successful. Imagine being in charge of a company and not having to show ownership that you can do that job. Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has the job everyone wishes they could have.
For 30 years, Grier has been in the NFL. In 1994, he started as an intern with the New England Patriots before being promoted to a scout in 1995, a job he held until 1999. During his time with the Patriots, New England had two double-digit winning seasons. They lost three playoff games and the Super Bowl in 1996. Two years after he left, the Patriots went to and won the Super Bowl. The first of an unprecedented run the likes of which have never been seen in the NFL.
In Week 4, Grier's Dolphins took another massive step toward ending their 2024 season early with another embarrassing loss. Somehow, games like Monday night are not costing Grier his job. What is going on?
Chris Grier's history with the Dolphins and the Patriots is an interesting lesson in success and failure
In 2000, Grier joined the Dolphins as a scout. He served in this position for two years before being promoted to Assistant Director of College Scouting. It was the last season the Dolphins won a playoff game, and they have only been to the postseason four times since and have won the division only once.
After serving five seasons helping out as an assistant for the college scouting, Grier took over as the Director of College Scouting in 2007. It was a job he held until 2016 when he was promoted to General Manager. As an assistant and the director, Grier had his hand in every single Dolphins draft since 2003. Those drafts produced some of the absolute worst drafts in Dolphins history.
Grier has managed to lead the scouting department and has still not produced quality players consistently for 21 years, and that doesn't seem to bother anyone within the organization. The Dolphins have not made the postseason consistently, and their roster continues to have large holes that he doesn't address. Yet, Grier still runs an NFL team.
Chris Grier isn't getting the job done for the Dolphins
Looking at the list of longest-tenured general managers ahead of Grier, we can discount Jerry Jones and Mike Brown. They are owners of their franchises, but looking at the other GMs and their team's, success has kept them around:
3: Mickey Loomis: Saints 2002 - 2024
- One Super Bowl trip - One win
- Playoffs - Nine times in 22 years
- Record - 205 - 153
4: John Schneider: Seahawks 2010-2024
- Two Super Bowl trips - One win, one loss
- Playoffs - 10 times in 14 years
- Record - 140 - 89 - 1
5: Howie Roseman: Eagles 2010 - 2024
- Two Super Bowl trips - One win, one loss
- Playoffs - Eight times in 14 years
- Record - 127- 102 - 1
6: Les Snead: Rams 2012 - 2024
- 2 Super Bowl trips - One win, one loss
- Playoffs - Five times in 12 years
- Record - 102 - 95 - 1
7: Jason Licht - Buccaneers 2014 - 2024
- One Super Bowl trip - One win
- Playoffs - Four times in 10 years
- Record - 77 - 89
How does Chris Grier stack up against the other GMs ranked higher than him?
8: Chris Grier: Dolphins 2016 - 2024
- Zero Super Bowl trips
- Playoffs - Three times in eight years. No wins.
- Record - 68-66
Grier may not have the same tenure as many of the others ranked higher than him, and not every GM gets their team to the Super Bowl. The most glaring part, however, is not the lack of Lombardi Trophies or even the playoffs. His record as a GM is two games above .500.
It is hard to fathom why he still has a job when the Dolphins still have not fixed their offensive line problem, he is on his third head coach, and he still can't get the quarterback situation right.
The fact that Grier has been around the Dolphins organization for so long is impressive. So is the fact that since 2000, the Patriots became a juggernaut after he left and the Dolphins became a perennial afterthought in the AFC East.
Since Grier arrived in Miami back in 2000, the Dolphins have won the division twice. Since leaving the Patriots, New England won the division 17 times. They may just be numbers, but when fans wonder how Grier still has a job with the Dolphins, it's hard to justify it given the numbers.
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