Barely half a day after the Dolphins’ embarrassing 28-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Miami dropped a bombshell of its own: general manager Chris Grier was out. Owner Stephen Ross called it a mutual decision, but as you’d expect, this stirred up plenty of controversy. And now, former NFL GM Ran Carthon has spoken on the smartness (or lack of) of this move.

Appearing on CBS, Carthon practically scoffed at the timing of the move. “How much are things gonna change right now? How are you going to improve this Dolphins roster at this point?” he said. “We’re basically in November. You’re not gonna change in terms of trading people that are gonna come in and improve your roster. So, I don’t understand what the firing of a GM does for you in the middle of the season because the season has been what it’s going to be”. 

He’s got a point. Firing a general manager in the middle of a season is peculiar, especially before the head coach takes the fall. Grier wasn’t some short-term figurehead, either. He climbed the Dolphins’ front-office ladder from scout to college scouting director to GM, logging 25 years in the building.

Grier’s record as GM was average at best: 77–80, three playoff appearances, zero postseason wins. But Ross’s patience apparently snapped after this 2–7 start. Everyone around the league figured if heads were going to roll, head coach Mike McDaniel’s would be first. The offense looks flat, the team feels lifeless, and no front-office shuffle fixes that in the middle of a season.

Also, the Dolphins appear to be resetting their foundation, starting from the front office before moving to the sidelines. By beginning with the general manager, the organization is giving itself room to assess long-term needs, carefully vet potential hires, and ensure that whoever steps in next has the authority to shape the coaching staff from scratch. Historically, Miami’s leadership changes have been mismatched, coaches arriving before GMs or vice versa, a pattern that’s long disrupted any sense of stability.

Thursday night’s Amazon Prime broadcast felt almost like a televised obituary for the franchise’s long-running dysfunction. Viewers watched as fans trickled out, and painful stats flashed across the screen, reminding everyone that Miami remains the only team without a playoff win this century.

So when Friday arrived, it wasn’t the coach who took the fall but Grier, the face of an era marked by promise that never quite materialized. Team owner Stephen Ross, perhaps weary of being seen as a passive figure in his own franchise’s decline, seems intent on showing that this time, the rebuild is real.

Still and all, it’s hard to find any upside in firing your general manager just days before the trade deadline. Unless interim GM Champ Kelly pulls off some sort of miracle before November 4th, this feels like change for the sake of optics. And Carthon wasn’t the only one calling it out.

Stephen A. Smith lashes out at the Dolphins’ decision

Stephen A. Smith echoed Ran Carthon’s sentiment….maybe in a more dramatic fashion. “This is BS. That’s the first firing, really? That’s what we’re doing? The personnel that they have on their squad, although we were not happy with it, we didn’t walk into the season thinking they’re going to be trash. We said they got some potential.”

“We said they got some potential. It was about Tua, it was about Mike McDaniels. All I know is this: I better be hearing Mike McDaniels’ name today. It better not just be Chris Grier. When you don’t get the job done, you don’t get the damn job done, period. Don’t tell me it’s just him. I’m waiting for more news,” Smith said, almost screaming.

Underneath the theatrics, Smith’s logic tracks. Nobody thought Miami’s roster was among the league’s worst. They had enough weapons to at least stay competitive. If they’ve fallen apart this badly, that’s on coaching and effort from the players.

Now, the question becomes: Does Mike McDaniel survive this? History says he probably won’t. Usually, it’s the coach who gets canned first and the GM soon after, not the other way around. Last season, the Raiders axed head coach Antonio Pierce and soon followed with GM Tom Telesco. The Jets did the same with Joe Douglas after Robert Saleh was gone. The next few days are imperative.