Saturday Dolphins Mailbag: Who Should Be Viewed as Strong GM Candidates

Part 1 of a Miami Dolphins mini-bye weekend mailbag after the removal of Chris Grier as GM:

From NYCFinFan4Life:

Yay mailbag time rapid fire. Who do you view as potential GM candidates that could turn franchise around? If new coach, top choice? How long do you see the new rebuild. Aside from Achane, Waddle, Paul who else do you see as building blocks? As always thank you.

Quick answers … I’d say don’t be surprised if Champ Kelly gets the job done at least 2026 paired with Mike McDaniel as head coach. My top candidates certainly would go toward what have been the top drafting teams recently, and that’s Detroit, the Rams, Philadelphia. So that means Ray Agnew (Detroit), Ray Farmer (Los Angeles), Jon Ferrari (Philadelphia). New coach preference is difficult to name because I don’t know who would be available. As for building blocks, yeah, Achane, Waddle, any first- or second-year draft pick, Aaron Brewer, Zach Sieler, Jordyn Brooks, and that’s about it.

From Delish007:

When media say’ oh no, Ross wants to win…’ It makes me sick - because it isn’t the kind of mediocre fringe playoff every year fans want. They need to trade, trade, trade and lose, lose, lose this year. Stop the nonsense and get an owner that wants to draft and develop.

Sorry you’re not feeling well, but Stephen Ross does want to win. And, yes, draft-and-develop is a very sound strategy.

From finsfan4life:

One would hope that there have already been discussions with other teams regarding trading Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Jason Sanders, and others with big or upcoming big contracts .... will Ross let Kelly makes any deals?

Why would Stephen Ross have moved on from Chris Grier if he was going to tell Champ Kelly he couldn’t make any trades? Yes on Chubb and Phillips, and I doubt any team is trading for Jason Sanders when he’s on IR with a hip injury. And I still wouldn’t trade him regardless.

From gtgeric:

Any chance we get Kiffin to coach?

Sure, anything is possible, but I’d say at this point it’s a lot more likely to be Mike McDaniel in 2026 than Lane Kiffin.

From Kail:

Who should be on the Dolphins radar for a GM? Should that hire keep/replace McDaniel?

In addition to the three names I mentioned earlier, SI national writer Conor Orr had his own list of GM candidates that included Ian Cunningham, assistant GM, Chicago Bears

· Alec Halaby, assistant GM, Philadelphia Eagles

· Adam Berry, vice president of football operations and strategy, Philadelphia Eagles

· Josh Williams, director of scouting and football operations, San Francisco 49ers

· Chad Alexander, assistant GM, Los Angeles Chargers

· Brandon Brown, assistant GM, New York Giants

· Terrance Gray, assistant GM, Buffalo Bills

· Jon-Eric Sullivan, vice president, player personnel, Packers

· Mike Greenberg, assistant GM, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

· Former Titans GM Jon Robinson

· Former Jaguars GM (and current Eagles executive) Dave Caldwell

· John McKay, assistant GM, Los Angeles Rams

From Sean Beachem:

Thanks as always Alain. Who are two players you think we trade by Tuesday and compensation we receive?

Hey Sean, the two most logical candidates from the start have been Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips. My guess is Chubb and a seventh-round pick gets you a fifth-round pick in return, and I can see Phillips and a six for a three.

From Earl Gottfried:

Hello Alain, now with Chris Grier no longer GM, do you expect Mike McDaniel to survive the season and become the choice of a new GM to stay or go? Also, do you expect player sell-offs now that Grier is gone that wouldn't have happened otherwise? And possibly a Bronco-like biting of the bullet to move on from Tua?

This question was submitted before the reports surfaced that indicated Steve Ross will keep McDaniel as head coach at least through the end of the 2025 season. Reports now are suggesting there could be a lot of trades by the Dolphins before Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, though I remain skeptical (and I indicated why in an earlier story Saturday). As for Tua, cutting him actually would be worse than the Broncos bullet because Tagovailoa would carry $99 million of deap space (over one year or two years), while Wilson carried "only" $85 million. I just don't see the Dolphins going that route.

From Stuart Kahl:

Hi Alain, I haven't written the mailbag in for a couple of years but have still been enjoying your articles, All Dolphins Podcasts, and Dolphins Collective, despite the frustrating state of the team. Are you still doing Keto? Did you ever try the fathead pizza I suggested? I just watched the Ravens game last night and one thing stood out to me. Yes, we had self-inflicted errors, but once the team got behind, the morale fell. Once we got behind by 2 scores, the morale fell to the point where it seemed that nobody on the team seemed to have hope to come back. The mental side of the game is critical in achieving success. Teams are said to take on the personality of their coach and watching McDaniel, it seemed his morale fell along with the players. It's easy to be positive when you're winning, but the coach and the team can't get so down whenever they fall behind, especially when there is plenty of time on the clock. I really like McDaniel, and it seems that his team is still following him, although in this case, in a negative way. I would like him to be successful, but unfortunately I don't think he will be able to do it as the Dolphins coach. I know his job is in major jeopardy and he is human, but does he realize how his morale can impact the team? Is that even something you or someone else can ask him? I was kind of indifferent with Grier's firing. He seemed to do pretty well with trades, but drafting was his downfall. Hopefully the next GM will be good at both. Keep up the great work!

Thanks kindly, Stuart. Still doing Keto. You do make a very good point about the Dolphins looking deflating very quickly in games, and it’s a point I made after the victory against Atlanta they were never trailed in that game and that was a big key because they have not shown themselves to be a very resilient team (yes, they did come back to take the lead against the Chargers with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but not overall).

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