Why the Miami Dolphins rebuild is giving me more hope
After a familiar stretch, small signs — from the rookie class to how the roster's being built — suggest Miami might finally be doing this the right way.
by Kupobeer
Stop me if you have heard this before: Multiple seasons of .500 (or worse) football. Overly bloated cap spending and mediocre draft success leading to no post-season accolades. No quarterback and minimal blue chip talent usher in a winning future.
This isn’t Groundhogs Day. That’s yet another mediocre ending to an era in Miami Dolphins history. After being entrusted by Stephen Ross to rebuild the Dolphins from the studs in 2019, Chris Grier is gone. After nearly 20 years working in the organization, he is no longer apart of the franchise. Speaking of building from the studs, that’s what Grier did to start.
In the off-season leading into the 2019 season, Grier executed the following trade (per ESPN):
Houston Received:
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OT Laremy Tunsil
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WR Kenny Stills
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2020 fourth-round pick
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2021 sixth-round pick
Miami Received:
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OT Julién Davenport
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CB Johnson Bademosi
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2020 first-round pick
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2021 first-round pick
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2021 second-round pick
This trade served as the foundation for what would be the start of a complete teardown. The Dolphins won five games in 2019, which put them into position to draft Tua Tagovailoia. The pick-hoarding worked on paper — Miami turned that draft capital into players like Tua Tagovailoa (2020), Jaylen Waddle (2021), and pieces that helped fuel back-to-back playoff berths in 2022-2023 under McDaniel (hired 2022 after Flores was fired following the 2021 season).
Part of the former GM’s undoing was his lack of patience with building this team. When given the option, he traded many of these picks for veterans such as Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, and Jalen Ramsey. He also gave each of these acquisitions high dollar extensions. While some of these transactions lead to a couple of years of high octane offense under McDaniel, lack of team depth and a top heavy, aging roster lead to this team breaking down as the post-season approached. After multiple high draft picks, and hundreds of millions spent on free agents and extensions, this team didn’t have one playoff win to show for it.
Fast forward to 2026, Grier and McDaniel are now elsewhere. Tagovailoa, Waddle, Hill, and others have either been cut or traded. Stephen Ross and his brain trust (including NFL legends Dan Marino and Troy Aikman) decided to look north in Green Bay to bring in personnel executive Jon-Eric Sullivan (aka Sully) to rebuild this once great franchise. He moved quickly to secure the services of Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley. They selected 13 picks in the 2026 NFL draft, and had minimal signings due to the albatross of $179 million dollars in dead cap for departed players they are taking to get their books in order for next season and onward.
Now we reach the million dollar question: Why do I have more faith in this build? It’s simple for me. This is the first true rebuild the Dolphins have had in over a decade. Grier has been with this organization for decades in various roles. Before he was running the show, Parcel and Ireland’s philosophies reigned supreme in the organization which created a middling effect beyond one fluky wild cat AFC East title. Stephen Ross has brought in Sully who has completely cleaned house. He brought in all new scouts, coaches, training staff, etc. I wouldn’t be shocked if he changed the Dolphins custodial staff. Prior to this new regime, Ross would fire the coach but not the general manager, or vice versa. Ross has never done a true reset since he purchased the team in 2010. Yes, he fired Mike Tannebaum and Adam Gase in 2019, but he promoted Grier who still ran the drafts and had alot of influence in decisions in those days.
Sully and Coach Haf come from the Green Bay system which is basically the anti-thesis of the Grier mantra. Build through the draft, develop and extend home grown talent, use free agency only for true impact players, and trade high on players that aren’t in the longer term plans (such as developed back-up QB’s) to maintain draft pick inventory. Sully has quickly shown he does what he says. He said he wanted Aaron Brewer, Devon Achane, and Jordyn Brooks here as building blocks. They were all extended before training camp started. Obviously, the true litmus test is how many games they win and long term post-season success. But Sully has knocked it out of the park so far. They are operating on one, aligned vision. No more leading by committee, no more leadership councils.
There is one way. That is the Sully Way. Hopefully he can land the plane.
