Give Dolphins GM Chris Grier his flowers for role in all this | Schad

LANDOVER, Md. — Tyreek Hill scored the long touchdown, yet another, and he quickly sat down in a Commanders end zone.

The celebration was on.

In the "roller coaster" seats directly behind him, Braxton Berrios, Raheem Mostert and Cedrick Wilson each sat, with guard Robert Hunt then pretending to pull their shoulder harnesses down, one by one.

With Jaylen Waddle directing the action, the Dolphins players raised their hands right, left, up and then forward, in perfect synchronization.

This roller coaster is rolling fast and furious and in a way not seen in more than 20 years.

Thrilling Miami thrashed awful Washington, 45-15, on Sunday at FedEx Field.

"Ten out of ten," quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said of the latest celebration. "I loved it."

"Definitely explains how football is," Hill said. “There's ups and there's downs."

This Miami season, it's almost always been up, up, up.

This result was as expected. So let's think bigger picture.

The Dolphins are 9-3 for the first time in 22 years and they've clinched four consecutive winning seasons for the first time in 20 years.

The ride as a Dolphins fan has hardly ever been better.

You need a Fast Pass to play on this team. And the bandwagon lines for fun are long.

"Everyone knows that we can do something special this year," Tua said. "And no one on our team is trying to waste that opportunity."

And now it's time to give credit to the man who designed and orchestrated the construction of this ride - general manager Chris Grier.

The Dolphins have clinched four consecutive winning seasons.

Entering Sunday's action, only the Chiefs had more regular-season wins over the past 38 games played in the AFC.

That's national relevance.

Miami Dolphins are Super Bowl favorites

The Dolphins have arrived as an NFL power, a Super Bowl favorite, and one of the most entertaining and exciting teams in recent league history.

But winning is what matters most.

The decision by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to keep Grier and jettison Brian Flores has proven correct. Flores was a strong defensive tactician, but we are not here and Tua Tagovailoa is not here without the outside-the box hiring of Mike McDaniel.

Beyond the McDaniel hire, Grier has made a series of really good decisions.

It may seem obvious to trade for Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey, two future Hall of Famers who wanted badly to be in South Florida, but Grier made it happen.

It may have seemed obvious to draft Tua with a fifth overall pick. But here we are and all the understandable criticism of Tua-over-Justin Herbert has cooled off.

As in, Grier may prove to have been especially right.

Grier's decision to select Austin Jackson with a first-round pick has not only proven to not be a bust, but the right tackle has matured into quite a good player.

Yes, the coaches McDaniel hired have made a big impact, too.

Dolphins GM Chris Grier makes series of sharp moves

The Dolphins smartly signed Connor Williams and moved him from guard to center.

The Dolphins smartly signed running back Raheem Mostert, drafted De'Von Achane, drafted Jaylen Waddle, drafted Jaelan Phillips, drafted Jevon Holland, drafted Christian Wilkins, drafted Xavien Howard, signed Terron Armstead, drafted Robert Hunt and on and on.

My goodness, the Dolphins smartly did a lot of things.

Let's be clear: Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has smartly, very smartly, done lot of very smart things in recent years.

This is a Super Bowl-caliber unit.

"Just look at it on paper and (what) we had on the roster in L.A. then and you put this Miami team on paper and look at our roster, and there’s a lot of similarities," Ramsey said this week.

Yes, there were resources to deploy. But Grier did not screw up the dramatic rebuild.

No series of draft picks (Noah Igbinoghene, for example) or free-agent signings (Chase Edmonds, for example) are going to turn out perfectly.

But Grier has been with the organization since 2000 and has been general manager since 2016 and it sure seems like he and McDaniel might now provide the organization with a truly stable duo.

Dolphins injuries to Phillips, Baker hurt

The Dolphins will try to go the distance without rising star pass rusher Jaelan Phillips.

On Sunday, starting linebacker Jerome Baker went down with a knee injury that McDaniel has hope is not season-ending.

More: NFL fans want 'the cameraman' involved in Tyreek Hill's viral backflip to get credential back

The depth will be tested. And some skeptics will say they're waiting to see how Miami fares against Dallas, Baltimore and Buffalo in the regular-season finales.

Winning the AFC East seems more than possible, but likely.

Hosting and winning a playoff game is way more than possible, and instead an expectation.

Enjoy how fun it is. Enjoy how exciting it is. Enjoy how good this team is.

And take a moment, too, to reflect on the role the general manager, Chris Grier, has played in this.

AVG Eats Emerging pass rusher, Andrew Van Ginkel opens up about no longer 'rushing scared.'

Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and Twitter @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins are 9-3 and having fun, so let's pause to think about role of GM Chris Grier