Rich Eisen: What the Dolphins Firing Their GM Means for Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s Future in Miami

Listen, the Miami Dolphins um are 2-7 and when your, you know, coach and front office is on a hot seat and you go on Thursday Night Football and you lay an egg and you suffer your largest home loss in four years, four plus years. Week two of the 2021 season is when the Buffalo Bills came in and waxed the Dolphins 35 to nothing. when you have your third game with fewer than 10 points scored this year and you only had one such game, one such game in the three previous years combined. What’s going to end up happening is a I guess Halloween term rolling head. And that does not belong to the head coach Mike McDaniel. It belongs to the general manager Chris Greer. An interesting choice by Steven Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins today. telling Chris Greer, who’s been with the organization since joining as a scout in 2000 and then working his way up to general manager in 2016, that we’re done here. And we’re not only done here as a general manager, but the trade deadline is right around the corner. And one would think if Jaylen Phillips or Bradley Chub or Matthew Judon are pieces that are of interest to other teams in the National Football League, and I’m I’m not somebody like Tom Pelisero who’s working phones and burning up phone lines. Uh but I can uh I can surely tell you there there’ll be some interest. Yeah, those players from uh my team and for sure um the Cowboys could use any of the three that I just mentioned. So, um, that coaching search, pardon me, I’m that’s a that’s a a cart before a horse right here. That, um, very important part of building this team for the future. when you’re two and seven and you’ve got pieces that you can move to other teams and acrue draft choices that is now going to be handled that crucial part of the business of the trade deadline talks not by the general manager Chris Greer but by senior personnel executive Champ Kelly and you know we’re we’re we’re we’re checking to see if maybe did did Ronda Santis say he’s not going to let the general manager be in charge of who’s choosing Nice. The next items topical. Is that what’s happening right now? Hold on. It’s going around. Is that what’s happening with all uh red state governors and football programs? Oh boy. Listen, um it’s a choice. It’s a choice. And Mike McDaniel’s still the head coach, but I I’ll I’ll be straight up. And this is about somebody who I’ve become fond of. Yeah, we really like. Right. So, this is just shooting you straight as I always do here on this program. I I can’t imagine unless he wins out like a Steve Fiser University of Michigan 1989 type run where he wins out and they make the playoffs and they somehow make Sorry, I said two Tua turns into Rale Robinson. Well, or Tua, he turns into the Tua of Alabama, you know, or the Tua of the 70 to 20 wipe out of the Denver Broncos a couple years ago type Tua. Uh, unless the Dolphins go on that sort of run, there’s no chance a new general manager comes in and says, “You know what? We’re just going to keep the same thing. Let’s just run it back. Let’s run it back with the same coach.” But you know, a general manager comes in and says, “I’ve got my own people, my own guy.” Unless they hire a general manager for Mike McDaniel’s past, and they want to keep him because Steven Ross doesn’t want to pay dead coaching money. And that’s the way this is going. And it didn’t help Mike McDaniel last night that his offense was moving the football up and down the field with impunity in the first half out gaining the Ravens 226 to 109 yards while holding the Ravens offense to one of six on third down but being down at halftime 14-6 because of a host of self-inflicted problems like Taj Washington. The rookie fumbling on his own four, leading to the first of two Mark Andrews touchdowns. The second one came after the Dolphins marched down the field and from the Ravens 12 yd line suffered a false start to bring on the field goal kicker. First of many times there were Amazon Prime Video cutaways of a cursing what appeared to be Mike McDaniel. Uh and then Riley Patterson field goal wide right. And then the Ravens marched down the field for the second Mark Andrews touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson. And then 14-6 right before the end of halftime and the Ravens getting the ball to start the second half and the Dolphins needing points. McDaniel figured I I he had the right play call on fourth and two and he’s not bringing out the field goal kicker. It just, you know, missed earlier even though Riley Patterson had just made it. Regardless, he calls a play and Tua just heaves it out of bounds on what appeared to be a matchup between Achan at 5′ whatever against Kyle Hamilton who is as you know one of the tallest toughest defenders in the league. Like that’s a one-on-one. You’re going to just go a fade right there. After the game, McDaniel said there was a multitude of problems that had occurred on on that play call and after the execution of it. And then down 28-6, they march down the field. The other Washington, Malik Washington fumbles. Everybody named Washington’s fumbling in this game. Tua with a pick to seal it. And it didn’t help anybody that this was a Halloween night celebration. final game in October on national television stream viewership that everybody gets to come dressed up and so some folks showed up with paper bags and started booing their heads off and that you know clearly is understandable as Mike McDaniel noted afterwards. Yeah, it sucks. That sucks. Um all of that does. Uh but you know I think it’s a a pretty consistent formula of you know fans enjoy winning and and so uh our expectation is that we have to do the work and do the right things um for uh for for fans to en enjoy the the experience and um unfortunately we didn’t do that tonight. Um so we got to get back to work to give him something to cheer about. you know, Dolphins fans, if you’re looking for somebody who’s going to turn over tables and wreck the buffet and just start pounding the podium, you got the wrong guy there. And, you know, Mike McDaniel picking and choosing his million-dollar words are are not what Dolphin fans want to hear. But that’s the guy who he is. And it’s his cerebral nature that brings about the ability to scheme an offense to march up and down the field. They just can’t make it cash. They’ve got a quarterback who’s thrown 11 picks who doesn’t who who doesn’t want to take a hit, and that’s totally understandable, right? Um, and they have uh players who aren’t performing sharply in the most important circumstances. And then injuries, I guess, everybody’s got them. Tyreek Hill being out for the year doesn’t help at all. But put it all together and the Miami Dolphins next up, as he says, got to get to work to give them something to cheer about. Buffalo Bills are coming into town and if they are coming in off a loss to the Chiefs or a win against the Chiefs, either way, they’re going to have a head of steam or a massive chip on their shoulder wanting to take it out on Miami before the Dolphins fly all the way to Madrid and are going to be in the big time international series finale. and the league in particular very excited about the Madrid game. So, there’s going to be a lot of promotion around it. Hey everybody, tune in to watch the Commanders and the Dolphins. Then there’s a byee and then the final six games. And you’re going to wonder how many people to use a Deion Sanders phrase that I learned long ago that when a team is no longer viable for the playoffs, players treat the game like a U-Haul game because they have the U-Haul backed up ready to pack up for the year. Certainly, if the GM is no longer there and the guy he hired is part of a team that has four or five wins, it’s brutal. The Dolphins have absolutely fallen apart this year is what it looks like. And in terms of what Mike McDaniel says fans like winning, I mentioned Chris Greer joined the team in 2000. That is the last year in which the Dolphins made the playoffs and won a playoff game. It is 24 years and counting. It looks like the longest playoff win drought in the National Football League. They last won on the second to last day of 2000. That’s when the wild card game occurred in Miami against Payton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. And Dave Wanstead’s Dolphins won that game despite Jay Feedler throwing three interceptions. Lamar Smith ran one in in overtime to win it for the Dolphins. That’s the last time they want a playoff game. Wow. So, Steven Ross has got another decision to make on his coach and I can’t imagine they’re going to hire a new general manager and keep the coach unless this coach’s team finishes somehow some. I mean, last year they started two and six, finished eight and nine gave them a lot of belief about this season. I mean, to finish eight and nine this year, you know, that’s going to be a tall order. So, that’s what’s up there. Hey, you made it all the way to the end. Thanks for that. Check us out every single day streaming live on Disney Plus and the ESPN app 12 to 3 Eastern.

Rich Eisen weighs in the Miami Dolphins firing GM Chris Grier following their ugly Thursday Night Football loss to the Ravens and predicts what it bodes for embattled head coach Mike McDaniel.

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49 comments

  2. It’s about time. This guy is the main reason they blow. I thought for sure he had blackmail material on the owner cuz he should’ve been gone a long time ago.

  3. Firing Grier was absolutely the right move. Those of us who have been closely watching the Dolphins all these years know he was the issue. This trade deadline doesn't matter. It's about getting the new GM in the building and giving him time to evaluate everything before the draft.

  4. Literally all a general manager has to do is get in their and nake the trenches the priority and not just looking for discounts at positions that are vital to stability

  11. We umm suck at football, ummm it’s not ummm fun when the ummm fans ummm boo us. Ummm it’s tough when ummm our ummmm quarterback is ummmm tua turnthe ballover. Ummmm next ummmm question ummm please.

  12. I bet those farm-bred, full grown, All Pro, grain-fed Linebackers caught Tua in the showers after the game.

    Them boys walked in and EVERYBODY scattered. Tua shampooing his hair, eyes closed, humming to himself. Then he felt a 44lb hand on his shoulder.

    GAME OVER BRUH

    💀

  16. I hope they don't fire Mike McDaniel, I believe in him, I think he's good for football, good for the young talent coming out of the college football circus, he's good for Miami, has a nice tan and a good head of hair Rich. I keep hoping Tua turns into Tua.

  17. One guy that played in Miami said it best, can't remember who it was, but he said Miami don't have any dogs on defense, meaning they don't draft players that fight from whistle to whistle and are a little bit mean as hell.

  27. Ultimately the Teams that are successful every year have one thing in common-cosistency. In the staff and players, system. Playing musical chairs with coaches and players usually doesn't work long term

  30. I don't think it was ever Mike.It's always been Tua. If you want to fire him for backing his quarterback, well, that's unfortunate. Firing the GM is a good move. Mike just needs a good quarterback for that system.

  31. McDaniel is dead man walking. His tenure is over. It's just performative art hereafter. Now the question is: Can they find anybody better?

  32. I am impressed with Ross with this one actually.
    Greer needed to go. (Tua next for showing his colors taking 50m instead of 30m, with knowing he'd be getting o-line help had he did)
    He gave Tua the contract that forced McDaniel to play with players as durable as broken rubber bands.
    What is Mike supposed to do except coach with what he's got?

  34. Once again a sports commentator trying to be in politics. Look at the map Republicans are the working class take snap 45 million people on snap 32 million Democrats 10 million New York alone. So keep talking about sports you know nothing about politics. Is your job is going to be replaced by AI also. The working Man that works with his hands and his brains will always have a job. The person that sits on his butt commentates can be replaced by anybody

  35. I didn't get the ron DeSantis or how ever you spell his name joke but I do live in fl and it's one of the free states especially compared to crappy cali can somebody explain that reference to me?
    Bc I know a cali state ain't talking crap😂
    Unless you rich like them you sitting in shiii politicaly and in some cities physically 😅

  41. Man, Steven Ross being a U of M grad and making Billions in business' you would think he would make better hiring decisions. Clean House! He should fire the entire Front Office, entire coaching staff and bring in a group of former Dolphin Players to take over for the remainder of the season. Get the culture changed or you will never have anything but a tax write off. You need someone to come in and set the Culture, hire a guy who will get instant respect from the players, someone who won't tolerate nonsense, if they don't fit into the game plan then ship them out. Build a team of players who will be PROFESSIONAL. The nonsense with Tyrek Hill that happened earlier in the season speeding and acting like a spoiled child with the police, then the domestic violence rumours, you need to cut the cancer out fast and get rid of that type of behavior. You need a GM that can put together a functional, professional roster. Bring in quality veterans to lead the younger players, bring in a proven team builder that knows how to draft and develop young talent. Ross has the money, he just needs to hire a "Leader of Men" not some gimmicky, hot, up and coming OC that knows NOTHING about being a Head Coach. In other words, build a front office and coaching staff like you would build a sucessful Fortune 500 Company. There is no reason Ross couldn't achieve that. How many former STUD Dolphin players that are retired but available to step in and finish up the season like Jeff Saturday did a few years back with the Colts. Put together a group of coaches that were former players that relate to todays NFL players and set the culture, those that don't want to go with the program……ship em' out.

  44. The problem started and arrogantly continued with Grier. Remember the Philbin era with the power struggle with Dawn Aponte? Grier won and appointed Dan Campbell as interim HC while he searched for hot HC. Never gave Campbell a chance and lost many assistant coach including Ben Johnson who is already a HC. Meanwhile, Campbell has slowly built Detroit into perrenial Super Bowl contenders.

    From Adam Gase to Brian Flores and now McD, he has hamstrung the teams with his idiotic player selection, trades, and free agent signings. From actually finding great players to resigning them has always been a dramatic escapade. Meanwhile, Detroit resigns Amon St-Ra, Jamyr Gibbs, and now Adian Hutchinson with not even a glitch.

    Tbh, I don't blame McD. Even his Genius of getting us into the playoffs for 2 straight years had to finally get erroded in the last 2 years. The final straw came when last year, Grier wouldn't draft any OL in a talent rich year and instead going with a unnecessary DE/OLB and OT project when we desperately needed OL to keep Tua a safe. This year our OL is getting better, but our DBs are battered.

    Find us a competent GM like Brad Holmes that stays out of the limelight.

  46. This mess is 100 percent on the owner. When Flores was the coach, the Dolphins did a fire sale and traded away a lot of players for high draft picks. They even traded the third pick in the draft to the 49ers so they could draft Trey Lance. Flores won 10 games in 2020 and 9 games in 2021. Instead of drafting the quarterback he wanted, the team drafted Tua who injured his hip in college…then fired him. Plus, they traded the 49er picks for Hill and Chubb. Those picks could had provided depth at a lower salaries. McDaniel took over a team that was headed in the right direction, but tried to go the fast track by trading for players. The GM, coach, and quarterback will take the blame for this mess…but the owner created this situation.

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