Internal "civil war" divided Dolphins Chris Grier and Brian Flores says Kyle Van Noy, fans shouldn't be surprised

Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Kyle Van Noy sat down and spoke with the guys from Punchline Podcast and opened up about some of the things that resulted in his release from the Dolphins.

Part of this conversation reveals that a "civil war" was taking place for power between GM Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores. A war that Flores eventually lost.

Van Noy said that the power struggle ultimately, in his opinion, was the reason he was released saying that he was Flores' guy and Grier made an example of it.

It was also said that Flores told Tua Tagovailoa that he should have drafted Mac Jones. There was never any respect between the head coach and Miami's quarterback and there has never been a question that Flores didn't want Tua on his team at all.

Was that the start of the entire friction between the two or was that simply the boiling point? According to Van Noy, he was stuck in the middle.

Van Noy also says that it seemed as though he was being singled out as an instigator for bad press and that too may have led to his release. He claims that someone released information to the press that made his release look more like it was because he was a "bad leader", something he denies.

Regardless, the Brian Flores era came to a screeching and surprising halt after the 2021 season and it may explain why Flores took to the airways to complain that he was fired over racial discrimination and was being forced to comply with losing, something he claimed was asked of him but refused to participate in.

Clearly, whatever the reason for Flores' firing, the dynamics in the front office were a big reason but race probably wasn't it. The fact Flores revealed all the behind-the-scenes tampering now becomes a clearer picture as to why he would do so.

The rift between Flores and Grier is nothing new to the Dolphins who have struggled in the past with friction between Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland. Friction between Ireland, Tony Sparano, and Stephen Ross. Past friction between Ireland, Dawn Aponte, and Joe Philbin, and of course, friction between Adam Gase and just about everyone.

For now, there is no friction between Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier. For the Dolphins to become winners, it has to stay that way.