Are the Dolphins Ready to Win Now?

INDIANAPOLIS — As the Miami Dolphins prepare to dive into free agency, they have some clear needs to try to achieve their goals for the 2022 season.

But for a team with a new head coach, they find themselves in relatively good shape and definitely in a different place than most teams in the same situation.

It's also a lot different than after previous head coaching changes for the Dolphins, who made a switch following a winning season for the first time since Jimmy Johnson resigned after the 1999 season.

It's actually been easy to forget over the past several weeks because of the Brian Flores lawsuit and his accompanying allegations, but new head coach Mike McDaniel inherited a team that was on the verge of the playoffs the last two seasons.

“I don’t view this as a rebuild anymore," GM Chris Grier said this week at the combine. "We’re in a place now where we have some young talent, young players. There’s an opportunity for us to be able to take advantage with a lot of the things we do and be able to win games here. I would say the difference in those (previous eras) was they were rebuilds. I think here, we’re just trying to supplement and keep building on what we have to push us forward.”

Grier is right in the sense that Flores inherited a team that was 7-9 the previous year; Adam Gase inherited a team that had gone 5-11; Joe Philbin inherited a team that had gone 6-10; and Tony Sparano had inherited a team that has gone 1-15.

In that sense, McDaniel got a major head start.

It's why he made clear his expectations during his one-on-one conversation with SI Fan Nation All Dolphins earlier this week when he was asked how close he thought the Dolphins were.

"I mean, it would be irresponsible if I answer that question before free agency in the draft in a concrete way, but abstractly, I mean, very close as close as one game out. And we have a bunch of young talent. I have a coaching staff that is very, very talented and very invested in the players, and I expect all the players to be better. So my expectations is that we continue to progress with what has been started here because it's been one game out both years, essentially.

"All I know is the players that I've talked to in the locker room in the building everybody's ready to take that next step. And that's all of our goals is to take that next step .... and close? They've already been close. I'd like to progress further. And so whatever that means ... I've been in the league long enough to stay away from stamped headlines. A lot of things can happen, but I can tell you that the expectations are to move forward. And when you're a game away, I'll let you fill in the dots."

Beyond their record of the past two seasons (10-6 and 9-8), the Dolphins do have a lot of young pieces around which to build, guys like Jaylen Waddle, Christian Wilkins, Xavien Howard, Emmanuel Ogbah, Jerome Baker, Jevon Holland and Jaelan Phillips.

The Dolphins are hoping they can succeed now as the Mike McDaniel era begins after a five-year playoff drought also accompanied by off-the-field turmoil.

“I don’t think it’s just one thing," Grier said of the past issues plaguing the franchise. "I have to take blame for that, too. I think at the end of the day, we all just try to do our best to get everyone going in the same direction and trying to find ways to win. I think we feel good about where we’re going.

"We’re excited about Mike and the coaching staff, I think a lot of the players have been around the building to see him and communicated how excited they are to be around him and his energy. But, you’re right, there has been (a lot of dysfunction). But we’re excited about 2022 and moving forward.”