The name Bobby Grier, the former NFL coach and executive who died at the age of 82, is not a name many will know. If you don't, take two minutes out of your day to learn about him, because you should.
Grier, whose sons Chris and Mike serve as general manager of the NFL's Miami Dolphins and the NHL's San Jose Sharks, respectively, was not a self-promoter. He seemed, in fact, to hate media attention. Several times throughout my years covering the league, we'd cross paths, and so many of our conversations involved him praising others. In a league full of people always taking credit, he doled it out.
"Bobby was the strong, silent type -- a leader who could always get the best of you. I had the good fortune of watching him as a coach and later as a personnel guy," said former Patriots linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett, who also worked under Grier as a scout, to ESPN. "He inspired people to think bigger and do bigger things."
What you have to understand about Grier is that to a number of Black coaches and executives, he was legendary. Yes, his credentials were unquestioned. Grier started his NFL career in 1981 as an assistant with the Patriots and then later moved into the team's front office. He'd go on to work for the Houston Texans from 2000-2016, and then later the Dolphins.
