Lions general manager Brad Holmes is adding another experienced voice to his front office. Holmes has hired former Dolphins GM Chris Grier as a personnel executive, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
After the Dolphins struggled to a 2-7 start in 2025, they and the 56-year-old Grier parted ways on Halloween. The split ended a long run in Miami for Grier, who began his tenure with the organization as a scout in 2000. Grier worked his way up from there to become the Dolphins’ GM in 2016, though he did not have full autonomy at first. He reported to vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum until his late-2018 demotion.
Grier’s time atop the Dolphins’ front office included a pair of head coaching hires in Brian Flores (2019) and Mike McDaniel (2022). His first-round draft picks consisted of Laremy Tunsil, Charles Harris, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Christian Wilkins, Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle, Chop Robinson and Kenneth Grant. Grier spent other first-rounders on veterans Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb in high-profile trades. Out of that group, only Robinson and Grant are still with the organization.
Tagovailoa looked like a franchise quarterback at times in Miami, leading Grier to authorize a four-year, $212.4MM extension with $167.1MM guaranteed in July 2024. That decision proved disastrous for the Dolphins, who released the former fifth overall pick this past March and ate a record-breaking $99.2MM in dead money. They are spreading that money out over the next two years, meaning Tagovailoa will be on their books through 2027. The same goes for Chubb. Tagovailoa, Hill and Chubb will combine to count over $96MM in dead money against the Dolphins’ cap this season. Former Grier acquisitions like Waddle, Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey are also among ex-Dolphins who are eating into their cap to significant degrees.
Miami went to the playoffs three times with Grier as its GM and finished better than .500 in five seasons, but the team never won a playoff game. Rookie GM Jon Eric-Sullivan, Grier’s replacement, is now leading a full-fledged rebuild.