This past weekend, the Detroit Lions defeated the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 in a wild-card game at Ford Field that gave the team their first postseason victory in 32 years.
For the Miami Dolphins, Detroit’s victory set them as the team with the longest drought for a playoff win, with their last win in the playoffs coming over 23 years ago over the Indianapolis Colts.
Miami, under head coach Mike McDaniel, has made the playoffs the last two years, but their runs have ended after just one game both times.
McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier have loftier goals than what they’ve achieved so far. Speaking to the South Florida media this week, Grier, who has been with the team since 2000 (the same year that they won that last playoff game), shared his thoughts on his team now holding that crown that nobody wants to hold.
“First off, congratulations to Detroit and Dan Campbell,” Grier said. “I’m happy for Dan. He was here and is a good guy and a good man. Him and Brad (Holmes) are doing a good job there, so I’m happy for them. But for us, we’re just going to keep grinding, chopping wood. We have a good roster. We know that we’ll keep adding and the team will look different. As we all know every year, 30 or 40 percent or more of rosters change. But we’ll find ways to have good players here and be competitive. We are very excited about our core nucleus players here. We will be competitive. The goal is to win the AFC East and win a playoff game, and ultimately a Super Bowl. That’s the goal of all 32 teams and it’s no different for us.”
The regular-season success is one thing, but the fan base and organization are hungry for something more. Even if they enter the postseason next year with a 14-3 record, it’ll mean nothing if they don’t see positive results in the playoffs.
McDaniel and Grier have a lot of work to do, but they seem to be on the same page when it comes to their objectives, and they also seem to match those of the Dolphins faithful, who have helped make Hard Rock Stadium such a tough place for opposing teams to play.
