The Miami Dolphins are going to enter the 2026 season looking nothing like the team they were in 2025. At pretty much every level, from the roster, the coaching staff, and even the front office, the Dolphins have completely started from scratch, with the hope being that they can eventually reemerge as a playoff contender after undergoing what very well may be a painful rebuild.
In the front office, Miami fired general manager Chris Grier midway through the 2025 campaign as the team labored through an ugly campaign, with Jon-Eric Sullivan eventually being hired as his replacement. Grier has spent the past couple of months searching for a new home in the NFL, and it appears he’s found one with the Detroit Lions.
Chris Grier Joins Lions Front Office After Dolphins Firing
Grier has been working in the NFL for over three decades, as he initially got his start as an intern with the New England Patriots back in 1994. He ended up becoming a scout in 1995, which is a position he would hold through the 1999 season. After that campaign, Grier made his way to the Dolphins, where he gradually worked his way up to the general manager position.
After starting as a scout again, Grier eventually became Miami’s general manager in 2016. During that time, it appeared as if Grier had put the pieces together for the Dolphins’ next great team, as guys like Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle were solid draft picks, while he also made some explosive trades for guys like Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb.
It ended up being Grier’s handling of Tagovailoa that cost him his job with the team, though, as Miami was forced to release the left-handed quarterback just two years after Grier signed him to a four-year, $212.4 million contract. Even though his tenure with the Dolphins ended in less-than-stellar fashion, Grier is still a shrewd executive, which is why the Lions opted to hire him as a personnel executive on Wednesday morning.
“The Detroit Lions have hired former Dolphins GM Chris Grier as a personnel executive, per league sources,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X.
Dolphins’ New-Look Front Office Tasked with Cleaning Up Chris Grier’s Mess
GettyMIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 22: Miami Dolphins General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan speaks as Jeff Hafley is introduced during a press conference at Baptist Health Training Complex on January 22, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
For a point in time, it looked like Grier had built a consistent winner in Miami, but everything fell apart in the 2024 and 2025 campaigns. Now, the team has found itself in a tough position, thanks in large part to several of the moves Grier made blowing up in his face. Tagovailoa’s contract was obviously the worst of the bunch, but it’s telling that guys like Hill, Chubb, and Waddle are no longer in town either.
The Dolphins’ new regime knows that the first couple of years of their tenure are going to be ugly, but if they can stockpile draft picks and young players, they could be primed to reemerge as a top team once they get their salary cap woes taken care of. In the meantime, you can bet the team and their fans will be keeping tabs on Grier to see how he fares with Detroit in the 2026 campaign and beyond.
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