The Dolphins fired Adam Gase, which didn't seem likely when Kenyan Drake was throwing a football in the stands to cap the Miami Miracle upset of the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium.

But Miami didn't win another game, falling to 7-9 and sealing the fate of the coach in the eyes of owner Stephen Ross. Wanting to take a new approach, Ross promoted general manager Chris Grier to a position overseeing all football operations.

In 9 of the last 10 years, the Dolphins have finished with 6, 7 or 8 wins. Is Grier the man to break Miami away from an infinite string of mediocrity? Here are the Top 10 offseason priorities for the Dolphins and, in turn, Grier:

1. Hire the right coach. Grier is entrusted with hiring a coach who delivers organization, discipline, emotional maturity, passion, leadership and communication skills. And, oh yeah, the ability to put together a winning staff and a winning season. This coach must also understand there may be a year or two of growing pains as the organization takes a step back in order to relaunch with higher championship aspirations. Grier appears to be taking an open-minded approach to his coaching pool, reportedly prepared to interview coaches with diversity in experience, age and race. There is no doubt owner Ross believes Ravens coach John Harbaugh would be a home run hire. But it would require giving up assets in a trade, which may run conversely to Miami's new organizational strategy. Among the men who could lead the next Dolphins club: Vic Fangio (Bears defensive coordinator), Mike Munchak (former Titans head coach), Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs offensive coordinator), Brian Flores (Patriots defensive coordinator), Kris Richard (Cowboys defensive backs coach) or Darren Rizzi (Dolphins associate head coach/special teams coach).

2. If not Tannehill, who? The Dolphins seem ready to move on from Ryan Tannehill after seven seasons. Tannehill has a scheduled cap hit of $26.6 million in 2019, and a rebuilding franchise probably does not want to carry that. Miami can save between $13 and $19 million against the cap with a release or trade, depending on when it occurs. The Dolphins appear prepared to take a cap hit of more than $13 million in order to see ABR (Anybody But Ryan) under center next season. Teddy Bridgewater was not lights-out in his season-ending start for the Saints but he still makes the most sense to lead Miami next season. The Dolphins could go with a different stopgap quarterback such as Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Robert Griffin III and pair him with a draft choice. Miami does not necessarily have to draft a quarterback in the first round this year, but they should draft one in the first two. And then they should plan to draft one high, likely in the first round, in 2020.

3. Sign (or trade?) Xavien Howard and Laremy Tunsil. Grier brings a new approach to Dolphins leadership. But he does not bring fresh eyes. It will be interesting to see how or if Grier's involvement in drafting some current Dolphins impacts his decision on if to extend them and for how much. Miami has only one Pro Bowler, cornerback Xavien Howard. Cornerback is one of the most important and hardest positions to fill in the NFL. But what if Howard's camp insists on $15 million a season? Would it make more sense to shop Howard for a first-round pick? Nothing should be off the table as Grier should gauge the market on any and all marketable assets. Speaking of which, left tackle is also one of the most important and hardest positions to fill. Tunsil should finish his career as a Dolphin, almost no matter what. Lock Tunsil up to a long-term deal, as soon as possible. He is a cornerstone and should be trusted to protect the blind side of the quarterbacks Miami will draft in 2019 and 2020.

4. Begin the youth movement by jettisoning older players. The days of band-aid fixes should be over. Grier will have some really tough decisions to make, notably on franchise legend Cam Wake. But Grier must do what is best for the franchise, not necessarily Wake or fans. Same goes for Frank Gore. He is a G.O.A.T., but also a progress-stopper. William Hayes, Josh Sitton and Danny Amendola don't all necessarily have to move on, but Grier will strongly consider it. Andre Branch and Robert Quinn did not work out and would seem likely salary cap casualties. This could be the end of the road for snapper John Denney. When it doubt, Grier should choose the lower-priced 24-year-old over the higher priced 32-year-old in almost all instances. Grier has a proven track record of discovering some gems in the later rounds of the NFL Draft. It's time for he and his staff to put those skills to use in free agency. Ever notice how the best teams have a few high-caliber players who seemed to come from nowhere?

5. Establish an overarching free agent philosophy. The Dolphins are done (at least for now) with splash signings who might draw some fans away from a Pitbull concert or a day at Fort Lauderdale Beach. All that matters is winning big — eventually. Grier will probably bypass most first-wave free agents and scour the market for under-the-radar 24-to 28-year-olds he and his scouting staff once really liked when preparing for the draft. It should be a goal for Miami to land at last two players this year that can develop into starters who actually make less than their production and value. That would be a nice change of pace for this organization.

6. More toughness, especially on line of scrimmage. The Dolphins have been a bit of a finesse team in recent years, especially in the trenches. We think Miami should add some bigger dudes. And some meaner dudes. How about just more dudes. Miami could really use at least two younger, scrappy, nasty, mean-spirited maulers capable of playing on the interior of the offensive line. The Dolphins could really use a few lunch-pailers with bigger bellies capable of winning battles on the inside of the defensive line. Somebody who can, you know, actually help the linebackers be in better position to stop the run.

7. Sign or draft a long-term cornerback. The Dolphins shouldn't overextend themselves in free agency or the draft to fill a position of need, but this is Miami's number one position of need, so — fill it. It is possible Cordrea Tankersley bounces back from a knee injury and plays capably next season. But the Dolphins can't rely on that. They also must plan to put Bobby McCain at nickel, slot corner and leave him there. No more rotations. He's best at slot. And Minkah Fitzpatrick is a future Pro Bowl safety, so leave him there, too. But they have to add at least one corner who can capably complement Howard (assuming he stays).

8. Make a decision on Ja'Wuan James. If the Dolphins were going to commit to James, they probably should have done so before his fifth-year option season. But there is new management in town. After the season finale, James said he would be open or not open to returning depending on who stayed in leadership positions with the club. We think it's a bit more likely he's open to returning with Grier in charge and Gase/Mike Tannenbaum not. Our guess is some other NFL team will be more willing to pay an athletic 26-year-old right tackle more than Miami is, considering their rebuilding mission. But to be fair, James is the kind of player Miami should be targeting.

9. More discipline. Gase believed penalties were more a reflection on players than the coaching staff. And the truth probably lies a bit in the middle. The Dolphins could stand to take fewer dumb penalties and fewer penalties overall. This should be a priority for the next coach. In general, Gase was a coach who portrayed himself to the guys as one of the guys. This seemed to work wonders in the first season, as players raved about his approach. But there seemed to be some disconnect, especially this season. As clubs usually swing from one extreme to another on coaching hires, it would be no surprise to see Miami hire someone with a more old-school approach to the head coach position.

10. Stick with the plan. Grier made a strong point in his press conference on Monday. "You’ve always talked about what kind of team you want to be, but as Steve (Ross) said, there’s times where you get caught up in some things where you may sign something or you stray from that," Grier said. "But if you have a vision for what your team wants to be, you stay with it and you build it the right way. You can build winners in this league and guys have shown that across the league.” The key word here is stray. Grier has been formulating his plan for how he would build a championship organization for more than 20 years. This is his chance. He cannot stray. He must stick to all he believes.

Schad: I’m down with this Miami Dolphins rebuild

BREAKING: Miami Dolphins fire coach Adam Gase after three seasons, promote Chris Grier

jschad@pbpost.com

@schadjoe