Kelly: Dolphins could mess up team’s chemistry playing hardball with Tua | Opinion
To quote one of the epic scenes from the cult classic movie “Scarface,” we need people in the world like Chris Grier, mainly so we can “point the finger and say ‘that’s the bad guy.’ ”
At least Mike McDaniel does.
That’s how the Miami Dolphins head coach has escaped blame when it comes to the uncomfortable, and somewhat embarrassing contract negotiations — or stare down — the Dolphins are having with Tua Tagovailoa and his camp over a contract extension.
Both sides appear dug into their position. Miami doesn’t want to pay the team’s four-year starter, a Pro Bowler who has led the NFL in passer rating and passing yards the past two seasons, market value, and Tagovailoa and his camp are seeking a contract that provides him and his family generational wealth, and one of the largest signing bonuses in franchise history.
Even though McDaniel has plenty of say and power in the organization, he’s continuously thrown his hands up, as if to say ‘I’m innocent,” when asked about the negotiations stalemate, and covered his ears regarding Tagovailoa’s hold-in, which intensified on Thursday when the quarterback sat out all of the day’s practice, and questions whether it will/can impact the team’s offensive performance in 2024.
McDaniel has insinuated multiple times that he doesn’t get involved when it comes to money because he’s focused on protecting the relationship between a player and his coach.
By default, that makes Grier the bad guy.
And there’s some validity to that. But on multiple occasions through this franchise’s history, and that includes during Grier’s run as Miami’s top figure in the franchise’s football operations, it was the head coach who stepped in, intervened and advocated on a player’s behalf regarding money.
That’s what needs to happen in this instance, and mainly to protect the healthy culture McDaniel has spent two seasons curating, cultivating, because it can be compromised over this Tagovailoa saga.
From the first day he was hired McDaniel has pointed out the best way to reach players, having them buy in, is to help them get paid, and he couldn’t be more accurate.
Players in the NFL have a finite window to maximize their career earnings, setting their family up for financially generations with their athletic prowess, work ethic and dedication to their craft.
That’s why players play this brutal sport, and anyone who stands in their way is the enemy, or bad guy.
During the next month Grier will either become a hero or a villain in a certain Miami Gardens locker room, and it will have a ripple effect throughout the team.
There’s a long-standing perception within the team that South Florida’s NFL franchise will reward some other team’s player far sooner, and more handsomely than they reward their own.
That has been this franchise’s reputation for more than a decade, and this offseason’s mass exodus of former draftees reinforced it.
In fairness to Grier, Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt received massive $100 million-plus deals, contracts I wouldn’t have matched if running the organization.
The same can be said about Brandon Jones’ three-year, $20 millions contract with the Denver Broncos, and Raekwon Davis’s two-year, $14 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts.
But Miami balked at guaranteeing Andrew Van Ginkel, a young player who was trending up, $3 million more than Shaquil Barrett, a more accomplished but older edge rusher, who abruptly retired last week.
Whether you agree or disagree with Miami’s offseason decisions, or how this roster was built — which is on the back of trades [Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, Jalen Ramsey], and mature free agents — perception is reality until you do something about it.
Miami took a step in the right direction by signing Jaylen Waddle to a lucrative extension, which made him one of the NFL’s 10 highest-paid receivers this offseason.
But haggling with Tagovailoa over his extension, and not even offering safety Jevon Holland a contract as he enters his final season of his rookie deal, serves as a reminder players need to put their business affairs ahead of the team’s agenda.
“When it comes, it comes. I can’t control none of that,” said Holland, who was ranked as a top-five safety by NFL executives and scouts in an ESPN player poll. “Whenever they want to [get it done] I’ll pick up the phone, but I’m out here every day just trying to get better.”
And what happens when that call doesn’t come?
This team has bought into being Super Bowl contenders, and realizes they have a small two to three year window to win it all. Ensuring that all the important pieces stick around, and are happy during that window should be everyone’s top priority because its critical to the health of the franchise.
That’s why I’m predicting at some point McDaniel has to step in to keep this saga from derailing the franchise’s forward progress.
It’s time for McDaniel to defuse the bad guy [Grier], and help the Dolphins and Tua close the gap.
