What to Make of Chris Grier's New NFL Job

This might come as a surprise to some Miami Dolphins fans, but Chris Grier is back in the NFL.

The longtime Dolphins general manager is joining the Detroit Lions as a personnel executive, according to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, seven months after Miami fired him.

Grier became a favorite target for Dolphins fans frustrated over the team's failure to so much as win a playoff game, a drought that began after an overtime victory against the Indianapolis Colts on December 30, 2000.

The playoff victory drought is the longest active one in the NFL after the Lions ended their own drought.

Moving to Detroit will reunite Grier with former Dolphins assistant coach Dan Campbell, who ironically he interviewed for the team's head coach opening in one of his first acts as Dolphins GM in 2016. Campbell lost out to Adam Gase and Campbell left to join Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints before the Lions hired him as head coach in 2021.

While Grier became Dolphins GM in 2016, he didn't necessarily have full personnel authority until 2019 because of the presence of Mike Tannenbaum as executive vice president of football operations through the 2018 season. Even after 2019, there always was some uncertainty as to who exactly was the final decision-maker on key decisions, though it was Grier who had the title of GM.

But it was Grier who beared the brunt of the fans' frustration after a series of hign-profile moves like taking Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth pick in the 2020 draft, trading for Tyreek Hill in 2022 and for Jalen Ramsey in 2023, and then giving all three new contracts in the summer of 2024 didn't get the Dolphins anywhere close to the Super Bowl.

On the contrary, for the wild amount of resources the Dolphins spent, they managed only two playoff appearances in the nine-year span between 2017-25 and both were one-and-dones.

The big question that's never been fully answered is who it was that made the final call on the Tua draft selection and his extension, with the quarterback thanking former head coach Mike McDaniel afterward for helping get it done.

Regardless, Grier clearly is well respected around the league as the son of longtime NFL front office executive Bobby Grier and having worked early in his career with Bill Parcells. Grier's brother, Mike, also is GM of the NHL's San Jose Sharks.

That Grier is back in the NFL should not be a surprise, even though some Dolphins fans might feel that way.

DAVIS GETS NEW JOB

If the Dolphins eventually decide to supplement their safety position, you can scratch off the idea of bringing back 2025 starter Ashtyn Davis.

He signed with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday.

After joining the Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent on a one-year contract last year, Davis ended up starting 12 games for Miami. He had 65 tackles and one interception, though his performance was uneven and the Dolphins didn't re-sign him when he was a UFA this offseason.

In the 49ers secondary, he will rejoin 2025 teammate Jack Jones, who started at cornerback for Miami last year.

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