Be careful what you wish for. All those people shouting “Fireland” and flying airplane banners over Hard Rock Stadium got their wish. They now regret that wish
I’ll keep this short and simple. Here are the first-round draft picks Ireland scouted and selected:
- Jake Long (a Pro Bowler whose career was cut short)
- Vontae Davis (a good DB who Joe Philbin traded, and then Vontae became a Pro Bowler)
- Jared Odrick (tough as nails. Remember he yelled at Philbin during a game? LOVED this guy)
- Mike Pouncey (versatile Pro Bowler)
- Ryan Tannehill (became a Pro Bowler once he left us)
In addition to these first-round picks, here are few other gems that Ireland found:
- Brian Hartline
- Reshad Jones
- Lemar Miller
- Charles Clay
Now, here are Grier’s first rounders:
- Laremy Tunsil (Grier wins points for selecting this All-Pro but LOSES more points for trading him. The worst O-line in the NFL trades an All-Pro tackle?)
- Charles Harris (Bust Bust Bust Bust Bust)
- Minkah Fitzpatrick (Grier wins points for selecting this All-Pro but LOSES more points for trading him. )
- Christian Wilkins ( a jovial fellow who’s done pretty much nothing in 3 years)
- Tua (the jury is out, but Herbert certainly looks better at this point)
- Austin Jackson (the jury is out, but I see absolutely nothing to indicate that Jackson will become a stud)
- Noah I. (the jury is out, but I see absolutely nothing to indicate that Noah will become a stud)
- Jaylen Waddle (same as above. Too early to tell, but there have been no game-changing plays from this “playmaker”)
- Jaelan Phillips (same as above. Too early to tell, but there have been no game-changing plays from this “playmaker”)
Other gems from later rounds:
- X Howard (an outstanding pick)
- Kenyan Drake (lost points for dumping him)
- Mike Gesicki
- Jerome Baker
- Jason Sanders
I think it’s pretty obvious that Jeff Ireland’s scouting abilities were far superior to Chris Grier.
I don’t follow Colin Cowherd at all, but I found this take accurately interesting. It’s not just angry fans and analysts like myself who point out Flores’s frequent mistakes and flaws. The national media is finally taking note too. And Jay Feeley, a kicker who was calling our game last week, proved to be right on the money as well with his Flores critiques during the game.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/fox-sports-colin-cowherd-says-143046642.html
Admin-I can’t disagree with any of the above-I was not a big fan of Ireland, thought he made some blunders and the team could have been much more improved than it was. He’s with the Saints now and seems like it’s working out for him.
It seems clear to me that Grier is a better assessor of lower-round talent. Finding X Howard, Drake, Sanders, Baker, and Gesicki was outstanding work (compared to lower-level Ireland guys like LeMar Miller and Hartline under Ireland).
But in the first round…No doubt about it. Ireland was much much better
Keep in mind that Charles Clay was also a great pick up, so was Vernon played well for, and in Clay’s case, he really balled out for Buffalo. Matthews was also a great late round pick up. And let’s not forget Ireland having successful FA signings like Reggie Bush among others.
I was a big Ireland supporter and more of his picks would have blossomed if there was an actual competent coaching staff in place. Philbin and his staff were clueless how to utilize the talent they had.
All in all, from top to bottom, Ireland was a far superior evaluator of talent over Grier.
I didn’t want to admit how much better Ireland was, but the facts don’t lie. Grier is the pits
Some more good news about Chris Grier’s failure: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/former-nfl-gm-mike-lombardi-145208558.html
They call Grier out for being conned by Leigh Steinberg. That cannot be PROVEN, but I cannot disprove it either. I think a few teams conned Grier in the latest draft. After we traded from 3 down to 12, Grier mis-read the room and over-estimated the value of Jaylen Waddle. Grier just isn’t good at seeing through the hype and looking at talent only. He panicked and wasted a #1 draft pick next year to move up 6 measely spots. All in an effort to get a guy who I’m sure woulda been there at 12.
And even if he weren’t there, he’s proving to be not that good anyway.
I’ve not been happy with Grier at all and I feel most fans are in the same thought process. How can this owner be happy with his performance either? If I made decisions like he has in my job, I would have been out the door a long time ago. Or any of us here at their jobs. It makes me crazy to get 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances to improvement this team and what are we seeing out of all these chances? 1-3 record.
Dolphins should bank the money it will cost to go to Tampa-save on jet fuel, hotel, meals, charter buses etc. and give them the win. An extra buy week!
All Flores is is what Cambell was to Miami. A new, fresh face in the aftermath of absolute failure. A guy to talked tough and motivated players. This motivation wears off and if your not adept at recognizing talent, a master at utilzing your talent, and a good X-Os guy, you are doomed to failure. And that’s where we are at. The only hope left is if Tua is really the guy and starts to shine. The QB position can hide many, if not all, coaching mistakes. But I doubt Tua can do this. I think he is average at best and most certainly injury prone. We do have talent on this team which must be traded for draft picks, again, for a new regime in the off-season.
I can’t even remember where Ross found Chris Grier. I have to assume he was in the scouting department or something. I do remember that the Dolphins were the only team in sports to have a black coach and a black GM, and a black coordinator. It was Jim Caldwell, but then he resigned soon after starting to work with Flores. I don’t think race had anything to do with it. Flores was a hot name in the coaching circles at the time.
But mostly because “experts” keep incorrectly thinking that Bill Belichick’s assistants will do well on their own. Every single BB protege has failed as a head coach. I don’t blame Ross for giving Flores a try, and he certainly looked adequate at first, but I WILL blame Ross if he allows Flores/Grier to continue.
I’m a bit old school, and I prefer the Steinbrenner/Jerry Jones method. It does NOT take a decade of observing a leader in action to see if they are good enough. You just have to know. You have to trust your gut. You have to fire someone and try a new approach when you get no results. In this case, I’d fire Grier before Flores. As others have said, exceptional talent can make up for inadequate decisions by a coach.
Grier has drafted about 60 players, signed numerous undrafted guys, traded for dozens of players, and welcomed about 50 free agents. That’s almost 200 tries for Grier to find a star, and he has failed every step of the way. (Exception for Xavien Howard)
I agree with you but it takes an owner that has a little clue about football and evaluating talent for this to work.
Yes, Grier has been with Miami for awhile as a scout. He went to Ross, sweet talked him, and pushed his way into the GM spot. And while he’s great at trading and acquiring picks, he’s bad to maybe decent at everything else.
Also, as a side note I forgot, let’s remember that Grier gave up a very valuable 2nd round pick to get Josh Rosen. He threw that pick away without giving Rosen a chance.
Rosen was given a chance but either way, it was a waste to even acquire him. I reviewed all the footage I could of Rosen to find even a glimpse of promise or hope – their was none. Miami made the right choice in getting rid of him but they also made the mistake of acquiring him.
How bad was chosen Rosen? I’d take Tua over him and I think it’s clear what my position on Tua is at this point based on my past posts.