Bobby Grier, father of Dolphins general manager and former Dolphins consultant, dies
Bobby Grier — a former Dolphins consultant, a longtime coach league executive and father of Dolphins general manager Chris Grier – has died at 82, the team announced Monday.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Bobby Grier, father of general manager Chris Grier,” the Dolphins wrote on X. “Bobby was a longtime executive for the Patriots and Texans and a former consultant for the Dolphins.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Grier family.”
Bobby Grier grew up in Detroit and attended the University of Iowa, where he played running back for the Hawkeyes from 1961 to 1964.
Grier began his coaching career in 1966 as an assistant coach at Waterford (Michigan) Kettering High, then served as the head coach at Detroit’s Martin Luther King High School from 1970 to 1973.
He moved to college coaching in 1974, working as running backs coach at Eastern Michigan and Boston College and later at Northwestern.
He took his first NFL job in March 1981, as New England’s offensive backfield coach. The Patriots fired their entire coaching staff after that 2-14 season, but Grier rejoined the Patriots as a scout in 1982 and rejoined the coaching staff in 1985, working in multiple roles for three head coaches (Raymond Berry, Rod Rust and Dick MacPherson).
When Bill Parcells became the Patriots head coach in 1993, Grier was moved to the personnel department as the Patriots’ director of pro scouting. In 1995, he was promoted to director of player personnel.
After New England went 6-10 in 1995, Patriots owner Robert Kraft moved control of football operations from Parcells to Grier. In the 1996 Draft, Grier selected Ohio State wide receiver Terry Glenn with the seventh overall pick; Parcells had preferred a defensive player.
The Patriots made Super Bowl 31, but Parcells was upset about losing his personnel powers to Grier and left for the New York Jets. Pete Carroll was hired to replace Parcells, and Grier was promoted to vice president of player personnel.
Grier left the Patriots after the 2000 Draft, months after Bill Belichick replaced the fired Pete Carroll. Grier did extensive work on quarterback Tom Brady before that draft, and the Patriots used a sixth-round pick to draft the eventual Hall of Fame quarterback.
Grier then joined the Houston Texans as an associate director of pro scouting and senior personnel advisor until his retirement in 2016. Grier joined the Dolphins as a consultant in 2017 and remained in that role for the past eight years.
Grier’s sons Chris and Mike are both general managers. Mike Grier runs the front office for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM.
