Stephen Ross and Chris Grier – December 31, 2018
Monday, December 31, 2018
Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross and General Manager Chris Grier
Stephen Ross:
(Opening Statement) – “First, I’d like to just thank Adam Gase for all of the work that he’s done. It’s probably one of the toughest decisions I’ve made. I really like Adam. He’s a very bright guy. He worked his tail off. Unfortunately, thing didn’t go the way we all hoped. A lot has been written over the last couple of weeks, I guess. I’d like to say all you guys were wrong because I didn’t make a decision until probably last night, after that game, thinking about it. I don’t where somebody got the information from, but the decision was really just made. I’m very proud of the organization and what we’ve accomplished. I think we’ve succeeded in everything from my aspect when I first bought it, except winning on the football field. Basically, the decision was really made as I looked at it and seeing that today, we’re no further along than when I really bought the team. We’ve been operating under a philosophy that we had a good young roster and it needed maybe free agents and draft choices and we’d be very competitive. To keep operating under that philosophy would be like the definition of insanity: doing the same thing and really expecting a different result. So I thought it was time for the organization to take a different approach, much like when I do in my business. I know everything I’ve done, we’re always the best-in-class and we’re on top, and that’s what I expect to be on the football field as well as an organization. I think you see what we’ve done as an organization that (Vice Chairman, President and CEO) Tom Garfinkel has led. You’ve seen what we’ve done with the stadium, creating a better environment for the fans and doing everything really the right way, watching our ticket sales grow, and what we’ve done in the community. I’m very proud of that. But what I’m not proud of is what we’ve done on the football field. That’s what I owe to the fans, and I take total responsibility myself. So today, in making that decision, I know when I look at where we are, I think we really have to take a different approach in how we do it. What you want and what I want, is really sustained winning seasons and having an organization that is used to winning, because that’s what people in Miami expect. That’s what the fans want and the fans deserve. Basically, the thought is we’re going to look to really build this organization based on our needs and if it takes a year or so – two years, three years – we’re going to be there and we’re going to be an organization. Fortunately, I’ve been looking around and we have someone within the organization that I believe can do the best job of anybody in leading us to that, and that’s Chris Grier. He’s probably one of the most respected people in the NFL. You talk to people (and) all along, I always got, ‘Hey, Chris Grier.’ I mean, a lot of people really haven’t dealt with him. He’s been a guy behind the scenes in making a lot of the personnel decisions but not leading the organization. Chris will have total responsibility of leading the organization. He will work together with a new coach. He will make all football decisions and report to me. I think that as we build this roster, we have a great young roster today with some key players to build upon, but we’re going to build it the right way, bringing in new people who will want to win, really creating that winning attitude. As you’ve seen with some of the recent players we brought in, it’s about winning and loving football. That’s what this organization is going to be. What I’d like to say is, they’re going to have the heart of a champion and that’s what we’re going to be all about.”
Chris Grier:
(Opening Statement) – “For me, I’d like to thank Steve for the opportunity. It’s a bittersweet day. Adam (Gase) and Mike (Tannenbaum) are good men. It’s always a tough day around the league – this day. Adam gave his blood, sweat and tears for this organization. He’s a tireless worker. I have no (doubt) he’s going to go on to great things and the same with Mike. I learned a lot from Mike. I’m very grateful to him. And it’s hard on them. You think about their families going forward. I know Steve had a very tough decision. I didn’t know anything was going on really until this morning. Again, looking forward to the future, I’m excited that Steve has entrusted me to lead the organization. I think some of you that have followed us kind of know a little bit of my background and what I believe in. Those people that have mentored me over the years and I’ve talked to them, there’s kind of a way I believe in building a football team and going forward, that’s what we’re going to do. The ultimate goal is to win Super Bowls and championships and be a consistent winner, as Steve said. It’s not about winning one year and then falling back. We want to build this thing the right way, where it’s long sustained success where the fans are happy, Steve is happy and we’re winning for long periods of time.”
Stephen Ross:
(Steve, there was a report today that you had asked Adam Gase to give up control that he had contractually over the 53-man roster. Is that accurate, and if he had said yes, would he still be coach?) – “That is not accurate. It was never discussed.”
(What ultimately led to the decision to reassign Mike Tannenbaum and fire Adam Gase?) – “As I said, I think that we’re going in a direction of building something and looking to build an organization that can be sustainable in winning, not just signing a few free agents that are older with a few draft choices and think you’re going to be a contender.”
(You mentioned that even if it takes a year you want to build this the right way, does that mean looking to the draft for a potential quarterback replacement? Do you look for a way to build, even if there are a little growing pains along the way?) – “That’s correct.”
(To put it plain terms, why keep Chris Grier when he’s part of the regime? What did you see differently in his decisions or where he can take the team?) – “When you talk to people to the NFL, I think Chris is probably one of the most respected personnel people involved. 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 this job. I’m very happy with that decision.”
Chris Grier:
(How would you summarize your team-building philosophy?) – “Not to get into a whole lot of details … You know me, I don’t really throw it out there for you guys. (laughter) But look who I started with. It was Bill Parcells years ago. I’ve worked with Pete Carroll as we’ve talked about – Coach (Bill) Belichick, Coach (Nick) Saban. There’s a lot of those guys. A lot of that has influenced me. And I talk to those guys still about a lot of different things. I just have strong beliefs of what I believe in, how football teams win and how they’re built, so I shared that with Steve. We had a good conversation and that’s going to be our plan going forward.”
(What do you think is the number one ingredient this team is missing?) – “The biggest thing we’ve had here over the years … We went 10-6, then we had the injuries and we suffered 6-10 and 7-9s … It’s just consistency and knowing who you want to be. You’ve always talked about what kind of team you want to be, but as Steve said, there’s times where you get caught up in some things where you may sign something or you stray from that. But if you have a vision for what your team wants to be, you stay with it and you build it the right way. You can build winners in this league and guys have shown that across the league.”
Stephen Ross:
(You said you made the decision last night. When were the players notified?) – “This morning.”
(You talked about not signing a bunch of free agents who are older. Moving forward, do you want the roster to be constructed primarily of young players, be it young free agents maybe coming off a rookie contract or two, plus draft picks?) – “Correct. I want players who love football, who want to win, where winning is the most important thing.”
Chris Grier:
(Have you set any sort of timetable in terms of hiring a coach?) – “We’re starting that process immediately. For us, as soon as we finish this press conference, we’ll go upstairs and get working on it right now.”
(Is it important that the next head coach have prior NFL head-coaching experience?) – “I don’t think so. You can’t rule out anything. 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.”
(Is QB Ryan Tannehill a part of next season with the Dolphins?) – “Yeah, as of right now, he’s on the roster. Again, the next head coach is going to come in and he’ll evaluate the roster as well. So we’ll work through that once that guy is hired.”
Steve Ross:
(Just the thinking in parting ways with Adam Gase, why did you ultimately feel like that was the right thing to do?) – “I think Adam wants to win and win now. He’s going into his fourth year and I think he wants to win. Every coach, in your fourth year, you have to win.”
(Have you indicated this might be a rebuilding program or winning immediately wouldn’t necessarily happen? Ideally, but not necessarily?) – “I think we have a lot of great players (and) a great nucleus to form. When we win on a sustainable basis – I can’t tell you which year that is going to be – but we’re going to do what it takes to build the organization piece by piece, so that we have the right players that will be here to build that winning tradition, or bring it back.”
(Is this the first time you’ve stepped back and said ‘Let’s do it this way?’ You said it’s a different approach for you.) – “Yeah. If you look back, look what we’ve done every year since I’ve been here. If we keep doing that, where are we going to be? We’ll be anywhere from 6-10 to 10-6. That’s not good enough.”
(Are you saying you’re willing to maybe go through some years of 3-13 to ultimately become an elite team?) – “I would hope I don’t have to go 3-13; but whatever it’s going to take, we’re going to build that organization with the right players that want to win. They’re coming here to win.”
