NFL executive, former coach Bobby Grier dies at 82

Long time NFL executive and former coach Bobby Grier passed away, according to a statement from the Miami Dolphins. He was 82 years old.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Bobby Grier, father of general manager Chris Grier,” the statement read. “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 was the father of Chris Grier, the current general manager of the Dolphins. The son has been in that position since 2016. The elder statesman’s other son Mike is the current GM of the San Jose Sharks in the NHL.

Bobby Grier’s football life began at the University of Iowa, where he played running back from 1961 to 1964. He transitioned to coaching in 1966 at Waterford Kettering HS in Michigan. In 1970, he became a head coach at Martin Luther King HS, also in Michigan, in his home state.

Bobby Grier passes away at 82 years old

The Detroit native coached at Eastern Michigan from 1974-77 as the running backs coach and then followed head coach Ed Chlebek to Boston College in 1978. Grier became BC’s first full-time black assistant coach.

After three seasons, Grier became an assistant with the New England Patriots coaching “the offensive backfield.” Following a 2-14 season, the entire staff was fired but he returned a year later in 1982 as a scout and took hold of the same coaching position with the franchise in 1985 and three years as a scout.

From 1986-92, Grier added running game coordinator to his resume. Grier then transitioned to the front office as he became the Director of Pro Scouting from 1993-95 and then was the Director of Player Personnel from 1995-97.

Another promotion came in ’97 as Grier became the Patriots’ VP of Player Personnel for four seasons before taking the Associate Director of Pro Scouting job with the Houston Texans. Grier worked under Pete Carroll in New England but was not retained once Bill Belichick came in and had final say on personnel matters. However, the long time executive did perform extensive scouting work on Tom Brady leading up to the 2000 NFL Draft.

Talk about leaving an impression on your way out the door. Belichick is long credited with drafting Brady, but he certainly had some help for that particular sixth round pick. You know the rest: six New England Super Bowl victories over the course of 20 years.

Grier was with the Texans until 2016, serving as the Senior Personel Advisor from 2012-16. He ended his career with the Miami Dolphins as a consultant up until his passing.