Chris Grier – March 25, 2019
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Monday, March 25, 2019
General Manager Chris Grier
(How are things?) – “For me, these meetings are informational; but I’d rather be at a Pro Day looking at players and doing evaluations and stuff right now. But this is part of the job.”
(How are you comfortable with the current constitution of your roster?) – “I think right now it’s still a work in progress. You still have the draft, and whether it’s June 1st cuts or May 8th – after that day when you can start signing guys that don’t work towards the compensatory system. So there are still a lot of options (to) still turn over the roster. But I’m very excited about it. (Head Coach) Brian (Flores) and the coaching staff have been great to work with. They’re everything we thought they would be. It’s been good but we’re still evolving.”
(You have a lot of things on your plate in terms of getting from here to the final roster in September. But if I could pin you down, what’s your number one concern as far as offensive line, defensive end or whatever? If you could fill one thing right now, what would it be? What position would it be?) – “One thing for any franchise would be a franchise quarterback.”
(I should have said outside of the obvious quarterback.) – “I’d say other than that is what we’ve talked about from Day 1, the building blocks – the o-line and defensive lines, getting those right. Losing Ja’Wuan (James) was a blow. It just creates another piece that you have to fill. We’re prepared for it. We have the draft; we’re still in free agency. We’ll keep working through that but I’d say the offensive and defensive lines right now, just building that for the future still.”
(If I could ask you a quarterback evaluation question, because that’s the thing now … When did you guys come to the thinking that QB Ryan Tannehill is not going to be the answer for the Miami Dolphins?) – “When Brian (Flores) got hired finally, and he got all of the staff in, it really took about two weeks going through it as a staff talking about the offensive side. Once we got (Offensive Coordinator) Chad O’Shea in and (Assistant Quarterbacks Coach) Jerry Schuplinski and (Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks) Jim Caldwell and the rest of the offensive staff, they sat together and they worked hard for two weeks grinding through it. They made their decisions and talked through it. Then, Brian and I obviously discussed it and we made that determination roughly a couple of weeks after they were together as a staff. They really spent two weeks going through all of our offensive film the last couple of years and watching every snap and working through that way. That was the determination and we decided then that we were going to go in a different direction.”
(But you had an opinion of QB Ryan Tannehill beforehand that you didn’t share with them, as you said. So was that your opinion before then?) – “It was an organizational one. I’m not going to say who was this way or that way; but all of us, we talked through it and at the end of the day, we all thought that was the right move for the Dolphins moving forward.”
(Why QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and what is your vision? Is it more or less a year or two years given his age? What’s the long-range vision for him?) – “I think when we signed Ryan, first of all for him, it was important for that second year. He wanted that two-year deal. We’re looking for someone that … We understand and Ryan knows too that he’s not a long-term solution for any team. I think it was very important to have the right type of guy. I think if you talk to anyone about Ryan and what type of person he is, he’s very popular in locker rooms. Last year you know DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans were very vocal in their support of him. And I think for that position, having a guy that’s respected for his leadership and what he’ll do in the locker room is very important, and also if that guy is going to be the bridge in the next year or two for the other guy as a mentor, it’s important he understands that. Ryan is a perfect guy to be a mentor for a young guy, just to show leadership and how to be around guys and how to relate to people. It was very important and that’s why Ryan was a guy we targeted.”
(Can you take us through the timeline of the QB Ryan Tannehill trade? When you decided to move on? Were other teams in the mix? Was Tennessee the focus all along? We thought maybe it would get done before the start of the league year but it went a couple of days after. I guess the way his contract was written, it allowed you some more flexibility. How did that all come together?) – “Really with Ryan, when we made that decision, I called Ryan and talked to him. We had a good talk about it. Obviously he was disappointed, I’m sure; but Ryan is a total professional as you guys have known and been around him. We told him and we also said we’re going to be kind of deliberate in how we do things because we feel Ryan’s a good player in the league and there would be value, we thought, from someone. And we did. There were a couple of teams who had called; but they weren’t in a hurry. I think everyone was waiting to see how it was going to play out in free agency, the early parts of it. And I think also they were doing some of their evaluations of draft prospects. So we were in discussions with a couple of teams and then (Titans Executive Vice President/General Manager) Jon Robinson was probably very aggressive in wanting to do something and so we saw the opportunity and they worked well with us and we got it done in probably about two days.”
(How would you describe QB Ryan Tannehill’s seven-year tenure as Dolphins quarterback?) – “I would say at the end of the day you’d probably say inconsistent; but I would say Ryan gave his heart and soul for the organization. No one is a tougher guy than him. I mean, you guys have seen some of the shots that guy has taken. He never complained. He had some really great moments, some great games that were tremendous. And then he had some games where not only he, but the entire offense struggled. I would say he was inconsistent with moments of really, very good, top football, and then other moments that probably the whole team struggled. But I appreciate him because I know what he went through. At that position, you get judged by wins and losses unfortunately, and he took a lot of blame for things that were out of his control. I wish him the best and I think he’ll do a good job there in Tennessee.”
(Was it a mistake to stick with QB Ryan Tannehill as long as the organization stuck with him?) – “I don’t know that because I think Adam (Gase)’s first year here we went 10-6 and made the playoffs and right when he got hurt, he was playing really good in that stretch for about six or seven games. So it was the first time with Adam, working with Adam, and him going down in training camp the following year and then last season, (it was) inconsistent ups and downs. So I don’t think so because I think after that 10-6 year with Adam, you probably thought, ‘Hey, maybe it’s going to turn and now it’s going to be what people hoped he would be as far as being a top 10 pick in the draft.’ The expectations are always – at that position, when you’re picked that high – through the roof. No, I don’t think it was a mistake. I think the one thing maybe we could have all done, and me pushing too, is drafting someone behind him to come through, that could maybe back him up. But we had other needs and it was a different mindset in terms of how we were doing things.”
(So teams jumped over the Miami Dolphins to get a number of quarterbacks – last year, the year before that, QB Patrick Mahomes and QB Deshaun Watson. Do you think those guys would have been a better move than sticking with QB Ryan Tannehill? Or at least bringing those guys on to compete with him?) – “I think with each quarterback, you have to defer to what kind of the head coach is looking for at that position. We’ve always talked about that before, especially if your head coach is a play-caller, in terms of the mesh, in terms of personality, how it fits, style, etc. In some of those cases, some of those guys may or may not have fit what Adam (Gase) was looking for. That’s always an important piece in evaluating. There are some players there that we liked a lot and what we were looking for; but we also weren’t willing to mortgage the future at that point in time, in terms of working with Adam and going through the process. Patrick Mahomes? We liked Patrick Mahomes. I would say we probably didn’t spend a ton of time with him in terms of spending time, but we met with him briefly, spent some time. Our guys who went on school visits liked him. (He is a) very talented player. As far as the other quarterbacks, they were all really good players but for us, at that time, we weren’t willing to give up a couple of first-round picks to move up at that point.”
(So going forward, would you be comfortable not drafting a quarterback this year?) – “I would say that all options are on the table for us still. Like I said, it always has to be the right guy in terms of personality, leadership skills, what you’re asking him to do in terms of, is he going to fit with what Chad (O’Shea) and Brian (Flores) believe in? Again, it’s going to be a lot of time here in the spring, still getting to know a lot of these kids to determine if that’s who Brian and Chad and myself all believe is the right guy to lead us into the future. Whether it’s this year or next year … Or maybe we could take one both this year and next year. But I think at that position, you can never be satisfied until you have the guy you really feel can give you a chance to win a championship.”
(So all of the options for drafting a quarterback on the table? This year, next year? Maybe taking one in each draft? Are those all options you guys are considering?) – “Yes.”
(What is the timetable on getting a quarterback? Do you have to get one by next year or could it be two years? Would you be comfortable with that?) – “I think it’s imperative that you have one that you can win with in this league. If we get to this year’s draft and we feel it’s him, we’ll be aggressive in trying to get him. And if we feel that it’s not this draft – which we’re still in the process of going through that – maybe there’s someone down the line here that may have potential that we like and then we’ll focus on 2020. But right now, we’re completely focused on the 2019 draft and there’s some interesting prospects in this year’s class.”
(How far would you guys go down the line? When you formulate this strategy, there’s guys who are freshmen now in college. Will you look at them? How do you do that process?) – “You always look at a two-year window, so when guys are sophomores in college. Obviously if some is a freshman and has a great year, you’re aware of who they are; but you really don’t start getting to digging on them until maybe a little bit in their sophomore year. But there’s coaches in passing that say, ‘Okay, this is a really different kid.’ Then you really start, when they’re juniors, of really painting the picture. But you have to be very respectful of the colleges. There are guys, coaches are invested in them and they’re helping the university win, so it’s also about being respectful and not interfering and making them feel like we’re trying to get all of their players leave early, because that’s not the case. We would like them to be mature, prepared and play as many games as possible before they get in the NFL, but that’s where we are right now.”
(So if there’s this two-year window, at what point will you start to target a guy? Is it six months before the draft or a year before?) – “I don’t think you can really target guys yet until you get to know them. You could have a guy who has all the talent in the world in terms of arm strength and everything, but then you get to know him and maybe he’s not the smartest guy or his teammates don’t like him. You really can’t start targeting them until they get to this point, a couple of weeks before the draft, once you have the complete picture of who he is as a person, on and off the field. Obviously, living in South Beach and Miami, as you guys know – Fort Lauderdale – it’s a different area. There are a lot of temptations, and can your guy, as the face of the program, can he handle that? Is this a small-town kid who’s never been exposed to it and he comes here and is like ‘Oh my god?’ He might not be able to handle that. You really don’t lock in on people until a week or two before the draft.”
(Where do things stand with DE Robert Quinn and can you give us your thinking on the QB Ryan Tannehill trade and perhaps Quinn on eating some money to ensure you get a better draft pick?) – “We gave a couple of teams permission to talk with Robert. I think it came out that he’s going to New Orleans. I haven’t talked to them in probably a week or so about it. There are a couple of other teams who have called and inquired about him recently. For us, as well as with the Ryan trade, we were just looking at all options available to us. In terms of buying a draft pick, that’s been done over the last few years by multiple teams and it was an option and with Ryan, we thought there was value in the player and we were fortunate to find a team that was willing to do it, as well with Robert. Robert is a good player. We can keep him on this roster if we have to. He’s a good player, he’s got value and he probably fits some other schemes a little bit better in terms of what he does, so he and his agent and other teams are talking to us about it and that’s where we are right now with that.”
(How would you describe how much of a priority it would be to get CB Xavien Howard signed to a long-term contract before the season?) – “It would be great. We’ve been talking to his agent back and forth a little bit and they’ve been very good to work with. Xavien wants to be here and wants to be here long-term. So yeah, it would be important because I think it could send a message – which we want – that we want our good young players to be here. So we’re working on trying to get something done. Whether it gets done or not, who knows. There’s a lot of things that goes into that, getting those decisions done. But yes, if we could get it done, it’d be great; but who knows.”
(CB Xavien Howard has suffered two knee injuries in his career that now have cost him significant time. Is that at all a concern going forward that he might have chronic knee issues?) – “A little bit but not really. Our doctors are very confident that what he’s had is not something that’s going to be a long-term effect to him. Really, Xavien practiced at the end of the year last year. He came back and it was probably us holding him out more – the staff. You’ve got to give Adam (Gase) a lot of credit on that as well, not throwing him out there just to go out there to be out there. He wanted to make sure he was doing best for his career going forward. Xavien wanted to play and Adam was like, ‘No, it’s not worth it right now. We’ll go out and play and let the young kids play and do it.’ No, it’s not anything we’re really concerned about.”
(Do you have any insight on where the staff believes S Minkah Fitzpatrick is the best fit? Is it safety, boundary corner or maybe like last year, a bunch of everything?) – “It’s been interesting because they got to watch him play a lot and they also studied him coming out in the draft the year before and they were like he was one of their favorite players coming out. That’s the unique thing about Minkah, he can do a lot of stuff. I think they have a position where he’s going to be locked in but I would rather have Coach Flores tell you guys that if that’s what he wants to do. But I will say they really enjoy watching the film as we did, and I think he can still get better from what he was as a rookie and we’re excited about his future.”
(If you place S Minkah Fitzpatrick in a certain position, does that allow you to draft for other positions? Or are you kind of using Minkah as a special tool that if you need something at another position he does play or vice versa, you can pick up multiple players at multiple positions. Is that something you guys will do because he’s that versatile?) – “I think position flexibility is always important; but I think especially with young players, if you can put them at one spot and let them sort of master that one position instead of each week, bouncing around … It’s hard to do. To his credit, he did a very good job of it last year; but I think just letting him – especially when he’s young – stay at one spot, I think that’s what Brian and the coaching staff are focused on.”
(What did you like about CB Eric Rowe? Does he have enough talent to contend for a starting position?) – “Eric was a very talented player coming out. He was someone that we liked coming out of college and we’ve been very fortunate that Brian (Flores) and (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh (Boyer) have coached him in New England the last couple of years. We almost traded with Philadelphia for him when they made the trade (with New England). We were in on that, as well. For him, the whole key has just been staying healthy. With the corner(back) market where it is, he’s a talented player, and to get him at the price we did is the reason why. He and a few other good players, the market for them, the price they were, we were very fortunate because our coaching staff knows him and they have experience with him. So they’re excited and he’ll get a chance to compete for that job, opposite ‘X’ (Xavien) Howard.”
(You mentioned earlier the term mortgaging the future. Is it safe to say that given the situation the team is in now, you’d be that much more likely to trade up if there was a quarterback available that you had a conviction on?) – “I would say yeah. I would say all options are on the table. I wouldn’t say that we wouldn’t. We also know that that’s the key for any franchise going forward. So if there is a guy there that we like this year that we feel we need to go get, yeah we will be aggressive, trying to get him; but we’ll also be smart about it. There is also a limit to what you should do in terms of being smart about it. People made a big deal about 2020 with what we’ve been doing but that’s also where the market has taken us as far as acquiring those picks and compensatory picks as well. So we’ll have a lot of flexibility to do stuff, whether it’s this year’s draft or next year’s draft.”
(We’re not going to ask you about tanking; but I do want to ask you about the long-term plan. The way we’ve seen it and we’ve written it is yeah, you’re getting all these assets for 2020. What do you see as the broader vision without infringing on state secrets here? What do you see is the plan for this team over the next few years?) – “We’re going to keep building it. From Day 1, when we made the change, we talked about building the foundation and building it up the right way. So that’s all it is. There’s no tanking. It’s hard when you say you want tough, competitive guys who love ball and you bring them in and say ‘Hey, let’s not do it this year. Let’s just relax and enjoy this year and we’ll come back next year and be tough and competitive.’ So you draft those types of guys and even now, when you add (Ryan) Fitzpatrick to the list, he was leading the league in passing for a while there (last year). So you’ve got Albert (Wilson and) Jakeem (Grant) coming back and Kenny (Stills). You’ve got (Kenyan) Drake and (Kalen) Ballage catches the ball well. It’s been interesting listening to them talk about Mike and how to use Mike Gesicki. We’ve got a lot of guys that can run and catch and a lot of speed. So it would be kind of hard to shut that down. As Brian (Flores) has talked about, we’re competing but we’re going to build it the right way. We’re going to be smart about it. And just acquiring picks is another way to hopefully speed up the process for us.”
(When you talk like that, it sounds like there is excitement in what is possible, but isn’t that bad? If you guys go out with your talent and win eight games, what has happened?) – “Well if we win eight games then it means we’ve drafted well with a lot of good, young players playing. They’re winning games. But also next year we have, I think, 11 or 12 picks right now with stuff going on still. So in terms of the future, we still can do a lot of stuff in 2020.”
(So winning eight games could fit into the master plan? Winning eight games next year, you could fit that in?) – “I don’t know how many we’re going to win. Everyone keeps saying tanking and we’re going to go and be crap. I don’t know what we’ll be. If these guys go out and we have some good, young players and they play well and we win eight games, we go, ‘All right, we’ve won eight games and we’ve got right now 11 or 12 picks right for next year and with the draft still approaching, who knows if we get more?’ So having that and those picks in 2020 gives you a lot of maneuvering in this year’s draft and next year’s draft to keep building.”
(In terms of the 2020 draft, one scenario is to move back in the first, move back in the first or maybe out of the first round all together to get an extra first-round pick in 2020. Is that something that’s even on your mind or would you know we have to take a player in the first round this year?) – “You always need a partner to do a move like that. So we’re not going to do anything just to do it and say let’s do it, and then we come out and look bad on a move. All options are on the table. We’ve talked about looking at this in a two-year window and you should always keep looking in that two- or three-year window. That’s been our approach. It’s been great working with (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore) and Brian (Flores) on it. And (Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner) Steve (Ross) as well. Steve has been great in terms of our plan and vision for it and he’s been really good in terms of how we’re approaching things.”
