Chris Grier

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Christopher Grier (born March 24, 1970) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL), a position he has held since 2016.^[1][2] Having been with the organization since 2000, Grier held various scouting roles with increasing responsibility with the Dolphins. He also has past experience in the personnel department of the New England Patriots, having served there from 1994-1999.^[3]

Early years[]

His father is Bobby Grier, the Associate Director of Pro Personnel for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL).^[2] Prior to that, Bobby Grier spent several years with the New England Patriots, where he served in various roles, including as the running back coach, director of pro scouting, and vice-president of player personnel.^[4][1] Grier worked under his father with the Patriots until 1999, when the organization fired head coach Pete Carroll. His brother, Mike, is a former professional ice hockey player who played for the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks, and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League and currently works for the New York Rangers.^[1][3]

Chris attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he majored in journalism; while in college, he played football for two years and then spent his final two years as an undergraduate assistant.^[1]

Executive career[]

New England Patriots[]

Grier served as an intern for the New England Patriots in 1994 before being promoted to a regional scout in 1995. Grier's Patriots made the Super Bowl once in his tenure; in Super Bowl XXXI where the team lost to the Green Bay Packers 21-35. Grier has worked alongside head coaches Bill Parcells and Pete Carroll during his tenure in New England.

Miami Dolphins[]

From 2000 to 2002, Grier served as an area scout for the Miami Dolphins. In 2003, Grier was promoted to national scout and assistant director of college scouting. He held this position until 2007 when he was promoted to director of college scouting. In his first 16 years with the Dolphins (before becoming their general manager in 2016), Grier has worked alongside head coaches Dave Wannstedt, Nick Saban, Cam Cameron, Tony Sparano, and Joe Philbin.

On January 4, 2016, Grier was promoted to general manager of the Miami Dolphins. In his first move as general manager, Grier traded the Dolphins' 2016 first round draft pick (8th overall), to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebacker Kiko Alonso, cornerback Byron Maxwell and the draft rights to Laremy Tunsil. The Eagles held the 8th overall pick in the 2016 draft before they traded up with the Cleveland Browns for the draft rights to quarterback Carson Wentz.

On December 31, 2018, Grier dismissed 3rd-year head coach Adam Gase and demoted 4th-year vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum as part of many organizational changes the team made following the 2018 season. On February 4, 2019, a day after Super Bowl LIII, Grier hired long-time New England Patriots assistant Brian Flores as the team's new head coach.

During the 2019 offseason, Grier made major changes to the team which included trading long-time quarterback Ryan Tannehill and linebacker David Long Jr.'s draft rights to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the draft rights to fullback Chandler Cox in 2019 and guard Solomon Kindley in 2020, and numerous other players such as Cameron Wake, Danny Amendola, Josh Sitton, and Robert Quinn were released or allowed to become free agents.

On April 23, 2020, Grier drafted Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the 5th pick in the 2020 draft to become the Dolphins' quarterback of the future, making Tagovailoa the highest drafted quarterback the team has selected since Bob Griese in 1967. A year later, on April 29, 2021, Grier drafted Tagovailoa's former teammate from Alabama, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with the 6th pick and Miami linebacker Jaelan Phillips with the 18th pick in the 2021 draft. Waddle's draft rights were part of a 3-team blockbuster trade also involving the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles, in which the Niners acquired Trey Lance's draft rights, the Eagles acquired DeVonta Smith's draft rights, and the Dolphins acquired first round picks in 2022 and 2023 from San Francisco.

References[]