Finsmob Unleashed

I watched the entire introductory press conference, and all I can say is that we have two passionate men, men who understand what needs to be done and have a plan already in place to execute that plan. I can tell with you confidence that will that they will stick to that plan, a process if you will. I know some of you, OK one of you, thought Chris Grier did a great job. I think part of the problem with Chris Grier was if he had a process, part of that problem was falling in love with certain players rather than having a draft grid with a whole bunch of players that you graded equally and then slide to the next player if a specific player you had interest in was taken. It seems clear to me that Grier, if he believed that he could just slide to player with a similar grade that it would work out, he would have done that. That’s part of Grier’s process. Identify a player, and make sure you get that player. After watching Sully and Haf discuss their plan, don’t bet on that ever happening again here in Miami. Draft picks are far too valuable to squander like that, especially when you have already traded away so many picks to trade for what you thought were impact players that didn’t actually impact the team.

As far as QB is concerned, I’m not saying there’s zero chance Tua Tagovailoa ever takes another snap for the Miami Dolphins, but I’d put it at less than 5%. It seemed clear to me they will be looking for QB’s, and also willing to give Quinn Ewers a shot, but it also seemed very likely to me that we will be drafting a QB in the 2026 Draft. That doesn’t mean RD 1, but they both understand that you need a QB, and that we might not have one on the roster, including Tua Tagovailoa. They also made it clear that until they find a QB, they will continue to draft QB’s, which I believe is the correct way to approach winning.

One thing I was also impressed with was each guy’s humility, and their honesty about their journeys to where they are now. I really do believe that they interviewed each and every candidate fairly but with the knowledge that a candidate was going to have knock their socks off to surpass Jeff Hafley, not because of the familiarity, but because of the man he was familiar with. You can feel the passion and the sacrifices that Hafley made to rise up to the ranks of an NFL coordinator. Both of these gentlemen appear to be tireless workers who give their all, and to turn this program around, that will be much needed. Hafley seems like a guy who will work with players and demand and expect excellence and dedication. If he doesn’t get that dedication, I think the player will know it, and if it continues, things won’t fester like they did under McDaniels watch. He seems like a total no nonsense type of guy that will everyone, including himself accountable. That is another thing that is much needed here in Miami. These “star” players running the asylum is over, this is a team, and everyone is part of that team, no exceptions.

Another observation is that these two guys definitely have a synergy. While that’s not a necessary component, I think it will help us quickly turn things around. Sometimes it’s good to have guys with different philosophies because there’s rarely only one way to do things, but despite the hierarchy where in this the GM has final say on everything, if the ideologies are so different, you’re bound to have one or the other get seriously frustrated to the point where the relationship could break. It appears as if these guys are definitely on the same page. How Chris Grier was influenced by Stephen Ross, we’ll never know. At the very least, it looks like Sully and Haf are free to do as they please, and Stephen Ross will not only allow it, but be willing to financially back whatever they need. In my mind, that’s ALL Stephen Ross should be doing is opening the purse strings, but he needs to stay out of football operations completely. He did the right thing, hired what appears to be a very competent GM who has now hired his Head Coach, and now that Head Coach will fill out his staff, hire two coordinators, and all the assistant coaches too.

Head Coach Jeff Hafley made it clear that he will be calling plays for the defense, it’s what he loves to do, and although we will be hiring a Defensive Coordinator, it will be Hafley running the defense. I have no issue with that as long it doesn’t appear that he has too much on his plate and other areas of being a Head Coach are suffering. I do think it could potentially limit who will want to come here as DC if Hafley is calling the game. We’ll find out. More than likely we will have first time coordinators on both sides of the ball, so we’ll have to wait and see how that works. Keep in mind that Mike McDaniel was in his 4th season here and he couldn’t figure out a game plan where we were able to win the 3rd quarter nearly the entire season.

As far as the roster is concerned, we basically heard nothing on that because they are still evaluating that, so no comment was the right comment. I have a feeling we will be trimming a lot of fat around here, and guys like Tua, Chubb, Hill might not be around very long. They want young players that will buy into what they’re doing, and frankly, I loved Hafley’s answer to the questions about players late to meetings and that kind of behavior. There will have to be a mutual respect between Coach and player, he will work hard, the player will work hard, and the Coach will push the player to work hard for his team and hopefully, the players will all buy into the team concept,. Let’s face it, we have too many “me” guys, especially the white hot spotlight on the most important position on the field, as identified by Sully and Haf, the QB. Tua embodies NOTHING of a guy who gives it his all for his team, and hasn’t since he got paid. Now Hill is a different story, on game day, Hill was a beast, a dog if you will, but meeting, and the like, he never felt like that applied to him, he was special. Jeff Hafley looks like won’t be tolerating that type of nonsense, and if it continues, that player will be gone, Hafley said that himself.

So now, after all that is said and done, we get to sit back and watch these two guys and their staff build this team after thoroughly evaluating the roster to see who are keepers and who is a goners. Without directly saying it, I’d be willing to bet an awful lot that we’re drafting a QB. As I have made it clear, I’d love to draft a QB, have that QB and Quinn Ewers compete for a starting job, and potentially bring in an inexpensive veteran QB as well, and that means NOT Malik Willis. I don’t think these guys are looking to spend money at that position, especially considering how much of the cap is already invested in a QB who won’t be playing here, Tua Tagovailoa. Hopefully, Former DC Anthony Weaver gets a HC gig this year, and we have yet another 3rd RD pick, a compensatory pick, but one that can turn into a player that can help this team soon. I’m pleased with what we have done, I’m optimistic that we’ll see a difference in 2026, but have a chance to really compete in 2027. I figure 2 drafts and nice reshaping of the roster and a little more cap space to fill in. We won’t be treading picks away for players or moving up and trading picks to move up, I can almost guarantee you that practice left the building with Chris Grier. We will use free agency when we have cap space, but that doesn’t mean our best players on the roster will come via free agency, no, our best players will be drafted. They stressed that several times, and I love it! I wish Sully and Haf all the success and best of luck as they bring this franchise back to being among the perennial contenders, like it used to be when I was a kid.

GO DOLPHINS!!!