Last Week I asked if we were at rock bottom, but now after getting blown out by the lowly Browns, I see the answer was no. The Charger loss was not rock bottom. The Browns loss is. For now. Until we lose to the Falcons.
In another garbage game from Tua, the defense contributed three more third-down penalties that gave the opponent a first down. Special teams handed them the ball on a fumble. Achane got caught from behind on a breakaway run. Oh, and did I mention Tua’s three interceptions, including a Pick 6 AND another deep in our own zone where the Browns scored one play later?
As bad as all that is, the worse news is that Quinn Ewers is horrible too. Yeah, I know it was only 2 series, but in those series, he threw a pick-6 (but the Browns DB mercifully dropped the ball that was right to him); he fumbled a perfect snap; he showed zero escape ability nor any inkling toward extending a play; and he overthrew or underthrew every pass he tried.
Man! I was dying to see Tua on the bench so we could see Ewers’s gun. What an utter disappointment.
We are a talentless team with an inept coach (2 more wasted timeouts because he didn’t get the play in on time) and an incompetent GM, all of whom were hired by a clueless owner.
hey admin.
The Dysfunctional Dolphins era is here and going strong.
the answer to your rock bottom question is NO. we are not at rock bottom
Rock bottom will be when Ross cleans house and gets rid of Grier, McDaniel, and Tua, and we start over. That moment will be rock bottom.
But will Ross clean house as I described? I seriously doubt it. He will keep one or two of the three and make some manager milquetoast blah blah blah statements.
Have been a good, diehard Dolphins fan since 12 years old (a long time!). This is worse than any time I can recall. One of the big problems that fans can’t do much about is the incompetent owner- we are stuck with that! How do you keep a GM for over 11 yrs who has not put a winning team on the field. Don’t give me Tua was the #1 QB a few years ago etc. Has he won a playoff game? No. That’s as far as his “talent” has taken this team and losing a playoff game means nothing. Then explain to me how Grier who had positions as a scout for many years has failed to bring talented players from college with potential!! College players are all good if they make a team, BUT to evaluate them and see they have potential to get to the pro level is a seasoned scout…which this organization obviously does not
have on their staff and has not had for many, many years. All NFL scouts are seeing the same college players but these scouts are lousy at their jobs, which had Grier in that group. This team needs an owner who wants to be a champion and will do anything to get it. Say what you will about Jerry Jones , but the man LOVES his Dallas Cowboys. Ross has no love for the Dolphins, or would for any team he could buy. It’s a big rich boy toy for him & to be with the other boys in the Owners Club. Stuck with him and Tua. I would rather see McDaniel not get fired midseason. He’s tried hard with the scrubs he inherited from Grier and Ross. Until this team hires a legit coach and GM, talented players will not come here, only those wanting to get their first chance in the NFL. I am open to your thoughts.
Finfanforever, I couldn’t agree more with most of what you said. I’ve been following this team long enough to remember when talent wasn’t the issue because we actually had a front office that knew how to find it. You nailed it. Grier has been part of the problem for over a decade, and somehow he keeps surviving every reset. He’s been in the building for twenty plus years, and the scouting department under him hasn’t produced consistent talent since Jimmy Johnson’s days.
What’s broken in Miami isn’t just the roster. It’s the entire evaluation process. We’ve had plenty of rebuilds, but nobody has ever rebuilt the system that does the rebuilding. Every time we change coaches, the scouts chase a new type of player, the analytics group gets ignored, and the draft board becomes a collection of random opinions instead of a unified vision. You can’t hit on players when the process itself is flawed.
That’s why I keep saying the Dolphins don’t just need a new GM. They need a new architect. Someone like Joe Hortiz from the Ravens, who designed a scouting structure that hits on players in every round because it’s built on data, accountability, and culture. We’ll never get him out of Los Angeles now, but a guy like Ian Cunningham from Chicago, who learned under both the Ravens and Eagles systems, would be perfect to rebuild the foundation here. He’d clean out the old scouting staff, unify the grading system, and finally make this franchise talent driven again.
As for the coach, I agree with you that McDaniel shouldn’t be fired midseason. But once this year’s over, the new GM has to bring in someone who reflects that same philosophy: discipline, toughness, and accountability. I’ve mentioned a few names that fit that mold: Ben Johnson from Detroit, Mike Macdonald from Baltimore, Bobby Slowik from Houston, and yes, Rex Ryan. People forget that Rex built two AFC Championship level defenses in New York with rosters that didn’t have elite quarterbacks. He knows how to build culture, motivate players, and command a room. Pair him with a strong offensive coordinator and a modern GM like Cunningham, and that combination could finally give the Dolphins an identity again.
You’re also right about the owner. Ross treats this franchise more like a networking project than a football mission. The only way around that is to hire football people strong enough to run the operation without interference, people who have the backbone and credibility to tell ownership no when it matters.
So yes, I’m with you. We need a GM who will tear this down to the studs and rebuild the scouting and personnel systems from scratch. Then we need a head coach who will turn that foundation into a team that’s physical, disciplined, and proud to wear the uniform. Until that happens, we’ll keep reliving the same cycle: hype in August, heartbreak in January. It’s time to break that pattern once and for all.
Brian, very well said! Total agreement. Watching NE’s new head coach Mike Vrabel begin to mold that team makes me feel like there is hope for the Dolphins. But it takes the right people-GM, HC, line coaches, scouts, all focused on how to create a team from basically the ashes. And of course an owner who will cooperate with these coaches and professionals who know football inside and out. If fans stopped going to games, that would start to send a message. The identity of this team needs a revamp. Been a losing franchise for so long that Folphin fans and other football fans can’t take them as a legit team. There is too much to do in SoFlo than spend a lot of money on tix, parking and food for a team that is disappointing and appears not motivated to do anything about making a total change.
I would bet Ross was at Michigan vs Michigan State game today…after all, when you donate enough money, you get named for the business school (Steven B. Ross School of Business). I can’t imagine Ross tells Michigan head coach how to run his football program.
Vrabel exudes toughness and discipline. He doesn’t wear capris pants either,
Finfanforever, I’m right there with you. Watching Mike Vrabel in New England already start to put his stamp on that team shows exactly what real leadership looks like. It’s not flashy, it’s focused. He’s setting a tone from day one, and that’s what Miami has lacked for years. When a coach like that walks into a building, everyone knows what the standard is. Players either rise to it or they’re gone.
That’s the type of mentality we need in Miami, but it has to start with the right general manager who hires the right coach. Without a front office that understands how to build a roster the right way, even a great head coach can only do so much. The GM and HC have to be in complete lockstep, both demanding accountability and valuing toughness over headlines. That’s why I keep coming back to someone like Ian Cunningham. He could rebuild the scouting department, bring in his own evaluators, and create the kind of foundation that allows a head coach like Vrabel to succeed.
The difference in New England is that even after the dynasty faded, they never lost their personnel discipline. They still draft and develop the same way they always have, smart, tough, team-oriented players who fit their system. Their scouting structure never collapsed, and that’s why they can start over and still look functional in a rebuild. Miami never had that consistency. Our entire evaluation process has been rewritten every time a new coach shows up. It’s impossible to sustain success when you don’t even know what kind of players you’re trying to build around.
You hit the nail on the head about ownership too. Ross has the money and the platform to do something great here, but he doesn’t have the football instincts to match. He wants the organization to be exciting and relevant, but that doesn’t happen through marketing; it happens through structure, discipline, and patience. I honestly think he’d be better off doing what he does with Michigan, write the checks and let football people run football.
And you’re right about the fans. People in South Florida aren’t going to keep spending big money to watch the same story every season. It’s not that the fans don’t care, it’s that they’re tired of caring and being let down. This city loves winning teams, and when you give them something real, they show up. But until the Dolphins change who they are at the core, the support will keep fading.
So yes, the identity needs a total revamp. It starts with a new GM who rebuilds the scouting and player development pipeline. Then it continues with a head coach who walks in and immediately sets a culture of accountability and toughness, the way Vrabel does. Put those two pieces together, give them full control, and the Dolphins could finally stop pretending to be a contender and start becoming one again
I can’t disagree with what Brian M and FFF diagnose and recommend. That would be awesome to clean house and hire the right scouting, management and coaching personnel. But I am not hopeful this will happen because Dolphins are run like an entertainment business more than a successful football operation.
also Remember, this dysfunction started with Ross tampering and the ugly Flores exit and subsequent lawsuits including racism lawsuit. So since then, there is no way on hell that Ross would fire black Grier because of that racism lawsuit. And they subsequently had to double down on Tua because of of the Ross’s tampering fail. Thus, At that same time, no coach in hell would work for Dolphins organization except for green baby Doe inexperienced applicants like McDaniel who probably convinced Grier and Ross that he could make their Tua investment worth.
Grier gone!