Miami Dolphins promote Chris Grier to general manager

ByJAMES WALKER
January 4, 2016, 12:08 PM

— -- The  Miami Dolphins officially named Chris Grier as the team's new general manager Monday.

"I think very highly of Chris Grier," owner Stephen Ross said in the locker room after Sunday's 20-10 win over the New England Patriots

Grier has been with the Dolphins for 15 years and has been their director of college scouting for the past eight seasons. Grier joined the Dolphins after spending five years with the Patriots.

"I've kind of been shaped by so many people," Grier said Monday. "Pete Carroll and Bill Parcells are complete opposites, how they do stuff. Nick Saban and then Coach [Bill] Belichick, they've all adapted. I think, in this league, you can have your philosophy and how you think you should build your team, but at the end of the day, you have to be flexible in your thinking and work with what wins in the league.

"When you're 6-10, as Bill says, you are what you are. At the end of the day, I think we leave no stone unturned and keep working. Like I said, for me, competition at every spot is key. I think it makes everyone better and it grows them as a player."

Grier said the Dolphins "can win" with quarterback Ryan Tannehill and is committed to building the roster around his quarterback and defensive star Ndamukong Suh.

"I like Ryan. He's our guy," Grier said. "I think [Sunday's win] was a great indication of some of the things that we can do. We can win with Ryan. I'm a firm believer in when you build a roster, you build competition. For me, I want competition, not just for Ryan, but for Suh, everybody on our roster."

Grier is the brother of former NHL player Mike Grier and the son of longtime NFL executive Bobby Grier. He will report to Mike Tannenbaum, the team's executive vice president of football operations.

"Chris is a highly-respected personnel guy throughout the league. He's been shaped by countless personnel people, including his dad," Tannenbaum said. "... I've gotten to know Chris over the years as a competitor. Over the past year, I've gotten to know him as a person, as a worker with great football acumen."

The Dolphins fired former general manager Dennis Hickey on Saturday. The Dolphins were 13-18 in Hickey's tenure.

The Dolphins have the eighth selection in the 2016 NFL draft.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.