Fansided
Fansided

Adam Gase Named Miami Dolphins Head Coach: Grading the Hire

By George Stockburger

facebooktwitterreddit

With the first official head coaching hire of the year, the Miami Dolphins bring in Chicago Bears Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase. One of the hottest names in this years process, Gase has a strong history of coaching quarterbacks and learning under some of the best in the game.

Gase started his career as a video assistant to Nick Saban at Michigan State. After spending some time as a graduate assistant at LSU, the MSU grad was hired by the Detroit Lions as a scouting assistant and eventually made his way onto the sidelines. He was the quarterbacks coach of the 7-9 Lions and worked with Jon Kitna in one of the best statistical seasons of his career.

More from NFL News

After spending a year in San Francisco, Gase made his way into the Denver Broncos organization where he started as the wide receivers coach. He would eventually move on to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. During that time he coached a Tim Tebow-led playoff team in 2011 and worked with Peyton Manning the following three years.

In 2015, Gase was brought over to Chicago by former Broncos head coach John Fox to recreate quarterback Jay Cutler. With the help of Gase and a team psychiatrist, Cutler went on to have a rebound season and a respectable QBR.

Now, Gase is tasked with managing Ryan Tannehill, the eighth overall pick of the 2012 draft. Despite improving statistically every year since being drafted, Tannehill has yet to reach the potential many would expect to see out of a first round quarterback.

With Gase’s hiring now official, the NFL Mocks staff gave their analysis and grade of the Miami Dolphins new coach.

Erik Lambert (Resident Bears fan): B+. Gase has the kind of track record and offensive scheme that can finally get the most from Ryan Tannehill. However, he’s still really young and totally untried as a head coach. Does he know how to coach every phase of the game? No way to know.

David Holmes: Give the hire a B. His offensive scheme will be a big help to Ryan Tannehill, much like it helped Jay Cutler in Chicago. Like Erik said the only question is how well Gase will do at coaching every phase of the game and not just the offense. I will give credit to Gase for brining in Clint Hurtt from the Bears to be DL coach. He should light a fire under Suh and get him motivated to play like the player the NFL is accustomed to seeing.

During Gase’s press conference, we learned the youngest head coach in the NFL (37) now has full control of the 53-man roster. You might wonder if that power swayed him away from a place such as Philadelphia, where he was considered the number one target. On the other hand, how much actual power and voice will he get? Longtime NFL executive and current ESPN analyst Joe Banner says not too much.

The future of Dolphins former interim head coach Dan Campbell is also an unknown. The Miami brass expressed their appreciation and support towards the man who took over a 1-3 team from Joe Philbin during Gase’s introductory press conference and support the idea of the former tight ends coach staying on the staff.

While Gase is widely praised for his work with NFL quarterbacks, I’d like to take a step back and take a closer look at who he worked with.

The Jay Cutler situation is one you have to admire, but much of the praise has been given towards a team psychiatrist who helped Cutler clear his head. Cutler did offer his support towards Gase and wished him the best in South Beach.

"“He has worked extremely hard his entire career and is very deserving of this opportunity. I wish he could stay with us in Chicago but everyone has a journey and this is the next part of his. His work with quarterbacks is well documented and I know first-hand how good he is. He will now continue to have success in this league as a head coach. I thank him for all his hard work and look forward to following this next step in his career.”"

Peyton Manning on the other hand didn’t need much coaching and he had a large voice in the Broncos offense. How much control did Gase really have there where you have an all-time great running the show? Manning also spoke out in support towards his former offensive coordinator.

"“I’m very happy for Adam. Adam had a great impact on me during our three years together here in Denver as my quarterbacks coach and then as offensive coordinator. He’s an extremely hard worker, a grinder. He’s extremely bright on all things football, an excellent communicator and always eager to learn more. He asks a lot of questions and writes everything down. I’ve always been impressed with his work ethic and his eagerness to learn more. He’ll be an excellent head coach, without a doubt. He is ready for this for sure.”"

For now it’s a wait and see game down in Miami. Gase will have to manage personalities such as Ndamukong Suh in a Dolphins locker room that went sour on Joe Philbin early this year. The biggest task will be getting the most out of Ryan Tannehill, who certainly has all of the weapons and recourses available to take the next step.

For now I’ll give the hiring a B grade, mostly because Gase’s youth and inexperience as an NFL head coach bring up some questions.

Gase will also have the eighth overall pick in this year draft, where the team could look to either bolster its offensive line or add talent to the defense.

Stay connected with NFL Mocks throughout the playoffs and head coaching search process.

Home/NFL News