The Miami Dolphins are undergoing a massive organizational and cultural overhaul during this disappointing season. The Dolphins already fired longtime GM Chris Grier but they aren’t done yet. Miami is making more significant, under-the-radar leadership changes that are crucial for their future success. The most notable action by the Dolphins’ ownership group is the simultaneous removal of the two longest-tenured executives in their front office: co-directors of player personnel, Adam Engroff and Anthony Hunt.
This move signals a strategic shift that avoids a common mistake made by transitioning teams: firing only the top executive while keeping the flawed middle management intact. Too often, a new leader (as the Dolphins will find once they hire their next GM) struggles to implement their own strategies and processes because the prior regime still has their middle management group in place. The next GM may be great at his job and have a fantastic set of ideas, but without a team that isn’t on board (and in some cases, even hostile) that new leader will fail.
To address this potential concern the Dolphins recently parted ways with:
- Adam Engroff: A long-tenured executive who joined the Dolphins in 1999 as a scout and worked his way up to Co-Director of Player Personnel in 2019. He was known as a diligent and dedicated scout.
- Anthony Hunt: Another long-serving executive, working in various roles from 1994 to 2025, also rising to Co-Director of Player Personnel. He was heavily involved in roster construction, free-agent acquisitions, trades, and advanced scouting, working closely with former general manager Chris Grier.
This move accomplishes the following for the Miami Dolphins as they turn towards the future.
- Cleaning House for the New GM: By firing these middle managers before hiring a new General Manager (GM), the Dolphins are making their job much more desirable. A new GM will not have to be the “hatchet man” who fires entrenched personnel and starts their tenure off on a negative note. Instead, the new GM will have the immediate freedom to bring in their own trusted staff and build a front office culture from the ground up, significantly increasing the odds of a successful hire.
- A True Organizational Reset: Change at the top (like the previous firing of Chris Grier) is insufficient if the middle structure that contributed to the organization’s prior struggles remains in place. This move shows the ownership group is committed to a top-down, bottom-up organizational reset, which is essential for breaking the cycle of mediocrity.
Despite the front office upheaval, the Dolphins have kept head coach Mike McDaniel in place for the remainder of the season. This is unusual for a team in Miami’s situation, but it is a smart move. Below are the benefits of keeping McDaniel in place for the remainder of the 2025 campaign:
- Effective Talent Evaluation: By maintaining a stable coaching staff and scheme, the organization allows any potential GM candidates to effectively and fairly evaluate the entire player roster in a real, consistent, in-game situation. If the team were to fire the head coach and install an interim who changes the play style or scheme, it would create “volatility” that makes the existing roster’s talent difficult to judge accurately.
- Best Chance for the New GM: Keeping the coaching situation constant for now gives the incoming GM the best shot at success, as they will have a full body of work from which to decide which players to keep, cut, or pursue in the offseason.
In short, the Dolphins’ leadership is praised for making every single move so far perfectly suited to ensure the next General Manager and staff have the greatest possible chance of success.
Disclaimer: The content of this article was originally published as a YouTube video on the Saturday Morning Inspection YouTube channel. With AI assistance, the publisher of the video created this article based on the content of that video.
