General Manager Chris Grier will take over the responsibility of overseeing the Dolphins football operations, part of a series of changes announced by the organization Monday.
Owner Stephen Ross said Grier, who has been with the Dolphins since 2000 and was named general manager in 2016, will handle all football decisions and report directly to him.
"When you talk to people to the NFL, I think Chris is probably one of the most respected personnel people involved," Ross said during a press conference Monday at the Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southeastern University. "Chris has been with the organization a long time. He's earned the respect of everybody within the organization. I've worked with him and watched him grow and I think he is really probably the best person that I could find for his job. And I'm very happy with that decision."
The first of the football decisions Grier will be making will be hiring a new head coach, as Adam Gase was relieved of his duties. Gase ended his three-year tenure with the Dolphins with a 23-25 record, including a 7-9 record this season.
Additionally, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum has been reassigned within the organization.
Coaching search: Grier said the search for a new head coach would begin the second he got back upstairs after the press conference Monday and that prior NFL head-coaching experience was not a must. " You can't rule out anything," Grier said. "There's good football coaches, pro and college, and I think we're going to investigate every avenue. For us, the important thing will be finding the right guy that kind of believes in some of the same things I do in terms of building a team, but I'm also flexible enough that if he presents his ideas and we think it's good, it's going to be a collaboration everything we do still. I know we talk about having control and I'm over it, yeah, but it's not going to work if he and I don't share a vision to implement that plan throughout the organization." As a point of reference, the last four Dolphins head coach hirings in the offseason came between Jan. 9 and Jan. 20.
Draft order: With the 2018 regular season now over, the Dolphins know they will have the 13th pick in the 2019 NFL draft. If they stay at that spot, it will be the fourth time they draft 13th. The previous three selections at that spot were DE/LB A.J. Duhe in 1977, RB David Overstreet in 1981 and T Laremy Tunsil in 2016. The Tunsil selection was made after the Dolphins traded the eighth overall pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for pick number 13, linebacker Kiko Alonso and cornerback Byron Maxwell.
Opponents set: The final 2019 Dolphins opponent was determined Sunday night when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Tennessee Titans to earn the final playoff spot in the AFC. The Dolphins finished second in the AFC East and will travel to second-place Indianapolis next season, along with road games against the Bills, Patriots, Jets, Browns, Steelers, Cowboys and Giants. The opponents at Hard Rock Stadium next season will be the Bills, Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Eagles, Redskins and the Los Angeles Chargers, the second-place finishers in the AFC West.
Ironmen: Two Dolphins accomplished feats of impressive durability in the season finale against the Buffalo Bills. Guard **Jesse Davis** completed the regular season without missing a single snap on offense. He's the first Dolphins player to play every snap for his unit since **Reshad Jones** did it on defense in 2013. **John Denney** appeared in his 224th consecutive game, matching the NFL record for long-snapper first set by Ethan Albright, who did it for the Bills and Redskins from 1996-2009. Denney has never missed a game since joining the Dolphins as a rookie free agent in 2005; Albright missed the final six games of his rookie season with the Dolphins in 1995 before beginning his streak the next year. Albright also played two games in the middle of the 2010 season before his career ended.
