Chris Grier is the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, a title he's held since 2016, and oversees personnel and all football operations for the club. The 2024 campaign marks his 25th season with the franchise, rising from area scout to national scout, director of college scouting and general manager during that time.

Chris Grier is the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, a title he's held since 2016, and oversees personnel and all football operations for the club. The 2024 campaign marks his 25th season with the franchise, rising from area scout to national scout, director of college scouting and general manager during that time.

Miami has quickly made strides in the five years since Grier took over football operations in 2019. The Dolphins have posted four consecutive winning seasons from 2020-23, marking the first time the franchise has done this in more than 20 years. The Dolphins also reached the postseason in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023, something Miami hadn't done since 2000-01.

Grier has utilized all avenues to acquire talented players. Of the 22 starters on the 2023 Dolphins roster, just over half (12) of them were drafted by Miami. Grier acquired nearly a third of the starters (6) via free agency and also added impact players via trade (wide receiver Tyreek Hill, linebacker Bradley Chubb and cornerback Jalen Ramsey) and waivers (defensive tackle Zach Sieler). He continued this approach in 2024, signing homegrown talents like wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to long-term contract extensions, while also acquiring decorated players such as wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., defensive tackle Calais Campbell and safety Jordan Poyer in free agency.

The 2023 Dolphins won 11 games for the first time since 2008. Miami led the NFL in total offense (401.3) for the first time since 1994 and ranked second in scoring offense (29.2). Miami also had a top 10 defense (10th, 318.3 yards allowed per game) for the first time since 2010. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who Grier selected fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, became the first Dolphin to lead the league in passing yards (4,624) since 1992 (Dan Marino). Hill, who Grier swung a blockbuster trade for in 2022, became the first Dolphin to ever lead the league in receiving yards (1,799), which was a new single-season franchise record, surpassing his own mark of 1,710 from 2022. Running back Raheem Mostert, a free agent signing in 2022, also broke team records for rushing touchdowns (18) and total touchdowns (23).

Tagovailoa (4,624 passing yards), Mostert (1,012 rushing yards), Hill (1,799 receiving yards) and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (1,014 receiving yards), who was drafted by Grier with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, all hit major yardage milestones in 2023. It was the first time in Dolphins history the team had a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season. Mostert became the oldest 1,000-yard rusher in the NFL since 2018 (Adrian Peterson) and Waddle became the first player in team history with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Defensively, the Dolphins shattered the team sacks record of 49.0 (1983 and 2005) with 56.0 sacks. Sieler, who Grier claimed off waivers from Baltimore in 2019, became the first Dolphins defensive tackle to ever top double-digit sacks (10.0) in a season. Sieler was signed to a contract extension shortly before the 2023 season. Chubb, who Grier traded for during the 2022 season, had 11.0 sacks, the most by a Dolphin since 2017 (Cameron Wake). It was the first time Miami had teammates with double-digit sacks in the same season since 2003.

Grier put together a 2023 roster that included 10 different players with a combined 33 Pro Bowl appearances, and six of the NFL's top 100 players according to the NFL's Top 100 list, as voted by the players.

Miami had six players selected to the Pro Bowl in 2023, tied for second-most in the AFC and tied for fourth-most in the NFL. Three of those selections were first-time Pro Bowl players in Tagovailoa, Mostert and fullback Alec Ingold, who Miami also signed as a free agent in 2022 and was extended at the start of the 2023 season. Hill was a unanimous first-team All-Pro selection and named to his eighth straight Pro Bowl. Grier traded for Ramsey in the 2023 offseason and he earned his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl selection despite missing the first seven games of the season due to injury. Miami's sixth Pro Bowl selection was tackle Terron Armstead, who Grier signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2022 and has been a captain and Pro Bowl selection in both seasons with the Dolphins.

The Dolphins finished the 2022 season with a 9-8 record and secured a playoff berth for the first time since 2016 and just the third time in the past 20 seasons. With a talented roster and under new head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins finished with a top 10 total offense for the first time since 1995, ranking sixth (364.5 yards per game). Miami was second in yards per play (6.1) and fourth in passing offense (265.4) despite starting three different quarterbacks for multiple games for the first time since 2007 and playing the third-most difficult schedule (.537) in the NFL.

Tagovailoa had his best season to date in 2022, becoming the youngest NFL quarterback since Dan Marino in 1984 to lead the league in passer rating (105.5). Tagovailoa also led the NFL in red zone passer rating (112.2), third-down passer rating (130.1) and yards per attempt (8.9).

In Hill's first season with the team, he shattered his career highs and the franchise's single-season records for receiving yards (1,710) and receptions (119), finishing second in the league in both. His 1,710 receiving yards were 321 more than the previous Dolphins record that stood for nearly 40 years (Mark Clayton, 1,389 yards in 1984). It was also the most receiving yards by any player in NFL history on his first season with a new team. He earned first-team All-Pro honors and was selected to his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl.

Grier selected Waddle in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft (sixth overall) and he put together one of the best seasons by a receiver in Dolphins history in 2022 following a historic rookie campaign in 2021. Waddle caught 75 passes for 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns. His 18.1 yards per catch led the NFL while his 1,356 receiving yards were third in Dolphins history.

Hill and Waddle combined for 3,066 receiving yards, which was the third-most by a pair of teammates in a season in NFL history.

Miami's defense also had success in 2022 as it finished fourth in the league in rush defense (103.0). Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who Grier drafted in the first round (13th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft, recorded a career-high 98 tackles. His 98 stops were the most in a season by an NFL defensive lineman since 1994. Linebacker Jaelan Phillips, a first-round pick (18th overall) of Grier's in 2021, led the team in sacks for the second straight season with 7.0. Cornerback Xavien Howard (2016, second round) earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection.

In 2021, the Dolphins won eight of their final nine games, including their final six at home. Grier helped construct a defensive unit that featured eight starters drafted by the Dolphins and all 11 starters under the age of 30. The group scored five defensive touchdowns, its most in a single season since 2001. Miami swept New England for the first time since 2000 and had two AFC East sweeps (N.Y. Jets) for the first time since 2016.

Miami's 2021 draft class earned key roles immediately as four players were regular starters as rookies. Waddle broke the NFL's rookie receptions record, a mark that had stood for nearly 20 years, with 104 catches and became the first rookie in Dolphins history to total 1,000 receiving yards. Phillips broke Miami's rookie sack record and finished second among all NFL rookies in the statistic with 8.5. Safety Jevon Holland was the only player in the AFC in 2021 to have multiple sacks, interceptions and fumble recoveries. Offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg was one of just 10 NFL rookie offensive linemen to start at least 16 games.

Howard earned his third Pro Bowl selection in 2021 after intercepting five passes and scoring two defensive touchdowns. He became the eighth player in team history to have at least five interceptions in three different seasons. Wilkins totaled 89 tackles, which was tied for the most by any NFL defensive lineman since 2013 before he topped that figure in 2022.

In 2020, the Dolphins won 10 games for just the second time in the past decade despite having the second-youngest roster in the NFL. The five-game improvement from 2019 was tied for the best in the league that season and tied for the third-best in team history. The Dolphins set a team record by starting 10 different rookies that year, including eight in one game in a Week 15 win vs. New England.

With several offseason additions, Grier helped build one of the NFL's best defenses in 2020. Miami led the league in third-down defense (28.8 pct.) and takeaways (29) and finished sixth in scoring (21.1 points allowed per game).

Two of Grier's draft picks – Howard and kicker Jason Sanders (2018, seventh round) earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2020, marking the first time since 2006 (Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor) the Dolphins had two first-team All-Pro honorees in the same season. Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis was named to the PFWA's All-Rookie team after Grier selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

In 2019, the Dolphins steadily improved despite having the youngest roster in the NFL, winning five of their final nine games. Wilkins led all rookie defensive linemen with 56 tackles, the fifth-most by an NFL rookie defensive lineman since 2015.

From 2016-18, Grier oversaw the draft and both pro and college scouting departments. In those three drafts, Grier selected seven different players who wound up earning top 10 contracts at their respective positions during their playing careers. He was responsible for the acquisition of multiple All-Pro and Pro Bowl players including Howard, Sanders, wide receiver/returner Jakeem Grant, tackle Laremy Tunsil and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Other notable selections included linebacker Jerome Baker and running back Kenyan Drake.

Baker was a third-round pick in 2018 and finished his rookie season tied for 11th among NFL rookies in tackles (76). He quickly took on a leadership role and was elected a team captain in 2019, just his second season in the league. Baker later became the first Dolphins player since at least 2000 to record 500-plus tackles in his first five seasons in the league.

In 2017, the Dolphins finished the season with 10 rookies on the active roster and four more on injured reserve or non-football illness lists. Miami was one of just three teams to play eight rookies on defense and one of just six to have at least four rookies start games on defense. Six undrafted rookie free agents contributed to the team that season. Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux finished his rookie campaign fourth among all NFL defensive linemen with 40 tackles (26 solo), despite being a fifth-round pick.

In his first draft as general manager in 2016, Grier selected Howard in the second round. In seven NFL seasons, Howard has earned a first-team All-Pro nod (2020), been selected to the Pro Bowl four times (2018, 2020-22), led the NFL in interceptions in one season (2020), tied for the NFL lead in interceptions in another (2018) and totaled more interceptions since he entered the league than any other NFL player.

The team also drafted Drake and Grant in 2016, who became just the second rookie duo in team history to combine for a kickoff return and punt return for a touchdown in the same season. In 2020, Grant earned second-team All-Pro honors as a returner.

Grier helped turn more than half the roster over in 2016, as the team entered training camp with more than 45 new players acquired during the offseason. The results were a four-game improvement from the previous season, the fifth-best mark in the NFL. The Dolphins finished 10-6 with a playoff berth, the team's best record and first playoff appearance since 2008.

As the team's director of college scouting (2007-15), Grier was part of a front office that discovered numerous Pro Bowl players. During that time, the Dolphins drafted seven players that combined for 14 Pro Bowl selections with the team. The list includes tackle Jake Long (2008-10), defensive tackle Paul Soliai (2011), punter Brandon Fields (2013), center Mike Pouncey (2013-15), safety Reshad Jones (2015, 2017), wide receiver Jarvis Landry (2015-17) and running back Jay Ajayi (2016).

Grier was also successful at finding value late in drafts. Jones, a fifth-round pick in 2010, was named the team's co-MVP following the 2015 season after he became the first player in team history to record at least 100 tackles, four interceptions and two sacks in a season. Ajayi was also a fifth-round pick (2015) and became the fourth player in NFL history to rush for 200 yards in three games during the same season. Ajayi's 1,272 rushing yards in 2016 were third-most in Dolphins history.

Prior to being the team's director of college scouting, Grier served as an area scout with the club from 2000-02, before being promoted to national scout/assistant director of college scouting in 2003. Miami won the AFC East during his first season with the team.

Grier started with the New England Patriots as an intern in 1994. He joined the club on a full-time basis the following year, serving as a regional scout until he joined the Dolphins in 2000. In 1996, Grier was part of a New England staff that won the AFC Championship. He helped scout several players for a Patriots roster that went on to win Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX.

Grier has worked with several of football's most successful coaches and executives throughout his career and that has helped shape his football philosophy. His father, Bobby Grier, is the former vice president of player personnel for the Patriots and senior personnel advisor with the Houston Texans. Chris has also worked with and learned under Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells and legendary coaches Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and Nick Saban.

Grier attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where he majored in journalism and played football for two years before injuries ended his career. He spent his final two years there as an undergraduate assistant.

Chris' brother, Michael, is currently the general manager of the NHL's San Jose Sharks. When Michael was appointed to the position in 2022, he became the first Black general manager in NHL history. Before his tenure in front offices, he played for the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres.

A native of Holliston, Mass., Grier and his wife, Paige, have two sons, Landon and Jackson.