Who should the head coach answer to? The owner? No, the owner is too busy rooting for Michigan University and planning soccer tournaments from his condo in NY City.
Maybe then the media could make him answer some tough questions at least? No, the media is too busy letting him get away with snide and incorrect answers.
The fans? I seriously doubt Adam Gase has ever listened to fans…or noticed the half-empty stadium that he himself is part of causing.
This is usually the time of year when we start seeing the annual articles about how mediocre the Dolphins are. The Herald and the Sun Sentinel both had similar articles after the Houston loss. The mediocrity is a indeed problem. But it’s not THE problem. The acceptance of mediocrity… now’s that’s the problem with the Miami Dolphins.
It’s the ongoing and consistent culture that being average is good enough. It’s enough to keep your job, so why try harder? Being “good enough” is accepted in Miami, and it starts at the top. Is mediocrity publicly accepted? Of course not. But is it punished? Are there ultimatums given that if you remain average, you will be gone? Of course not either.
Stephen Ross allows Adam Gase to be average.
He allows Adam Gase to get away with on-field decisions that baffle you when see them, and then frustrate you when you hear Gase’s excuses for them.
For example, in Adam Gase’s tenure as Dolphins head coach, we have faced many plays of third-and-inches and 4-and-inches (the most recent being Thursday night on our very first drive). In all that time, do you know how many QB sneaks Gase has called? Take a guess. Did you say “one?” The answer is one. One QB sneak in 3 years.
The single-most simple play in sports history, and our head coach/offensive coordinator/genius QB Whisperer has called a grand total of one QB sneak. Instead, he calls shotgun sets that rarely work. He calls pass plays (Thursday) that blow up before the QB can breathe. He calls ridiculous 5-wide sets to spread the defense (good idea if you’re about to sneak it), but then he passes the ball instead. He does everything but gain the first down.
Remember the Bengal game? We led by 14 points with a few minutes left in the 3rd quarter. We faced a third and inches. Frank Gore was on fire and virtually unstoppable. But guess who stopped him? Don’t guess a Bengal, guess Adam Gase. Gase called a low-probaility long bomb that got nothing. We needed 7 inches and Gase tried for 70 yards. Why? A QB sneaks wins the game for us.
I could go on and on about Gase’s reluctance to sustain drives. But I’ve covered that too many times already. My point today is not to question his effectiveness yet again. It’s to question how he gets away with it. He costs us games and yet faces zero repercussions. And there’s only one man who can offer those repercussions, so it’s baffling why Mr. Ross stays away.
One of the Herald writers spoke about the 4th/inches play in Houston, and he said that Gase didn’t have faith in his offensive line. Was Gase not watching the same game as the rest of us? Did he not see Frank Gore get about 5 yards every chance he got the ball? Did he not see Kenyan Drake zigzagging around the edge routinely? There is no reason on earth for Gase to not think his men could rush for an inch. But the reporters just accepted Gase’s answers instead of challenging him.
Gase’s logic is wrong, and he costs us games. How can Mr. Ross not see this? How can he not change this?
I don’t think Stephen Ross is a football genius, but he is a wise man. I doubt he accepts mediocrity in his business and real estate deals. So why does he accept it in all 3 of the head coaches he’s hired?
One reason Gase gets away with mediocrity is because it’s hard to pinpoint one single thing he needs improvement on.
He’s like a student who gets all C’s on a report card…what can his parents possibly say to him? Compare that to a student who gets an A+ in every subject, except for a C in math. Guess which subject his parents are going to question him about? Adam Gase is that C student.
Just when you’re about to chastise him for his awful play-calling, he gets rid of Jay Ajayi. Who needs a guy who rushed for 200 yards THREE TIMES IN ONE SEASON, right? Why hire competent, experienced assistants who have played and coached in the NFL when you can hire some inexperienced buddies instead? Some of these Gase gaffes make you forget all about his playcalling at times.
When it comes to choosing something to scold Adam Gase about, you’re faced with an overwhelming buffet of options.
But no matter what you criticize him for, you must first criticize the man who foisted him upon us. Stephen Ross.
Maybe Mr. Ross was taken with Gase and believed all the “offensive genius” nonsense. Okay, I’ll buy that. But in three years, have we seen any signs of genius? Have we seen anything?
Can Ross at least ask Gase to dress better on Sundays? Something other than a track suit and a t-shirt? (all right, that is a personal gripe of mine, but a little bit of professional attire might make the players respect him).
When Frank Gore proves that he can pick up five yards every single time he touches the ball, you keep feeding it to him. You don’t try to get fancy and throw a bubble screen to someone else. You think Frank Gore respects Gase?
When Jay Ajayi gives you not one, not two, but three different games of 200 yards rushing, you feed him the ball. You don’t put him on the bench on third downs. You don’t let Damien Williams play in his place. And you certainly don’t trade the guy. You think Ajayi respects Gase?
When the running game is working in general, Gase will throw a wrench into that success. Gase is the master of tampering with success. He does not let sleeping dogs lie. How many times have we seen 4 or 5 rushes in a row go for 6 or 7 yards at a pop. We’re rolling. We’re in the opponent’s territory. We’re moving the ball. But then Gase calls for his famous 5-wide formations with no one in the backfield…
And you know what comes next. How does Gase NOT know? Sack on first down. Draw play for 2 yards on second down. A 5-yard gain on 3rd and 15. Punt. THAT is the Adam Gase offense.
The other night, Dodger pitcher Rich Hill took a 1-hitter into the 7th innings, and his manager, Dave Roberts, benched him. Roberts tampered with success. The relievers came in and turned a 4-0 Dodger rout into a World Series victory for the Red Sox. President Trump tweeted about Roberts’ atrocious decision. Despite all the things Trump is wrong about, he was right on the money in blasting Roberts.
Much like Adam Gase, Roberts defended his own stupidity with a deflection, smugly stating that Trump doesn’t know anything. Ah, but he does. He knows that if a player is doing outstanding work, you don’t bench him. Just ask Jay Ajayi. But don’t ask Adam Gase.
The only thing more frustrating than Gase’s decisions is his cockiness. He’s a smug man who looks down on everyone who dare to question him. But that leads me to something else…who DOES question him? Certainly not Mr. Ross. Certainly not the Miami media, who continue to ask him softball questions like “Can you tell us went went wrong” instead of a more challenging, “Can you tell us why you you didn’t just run a QB sneak when you needed an inch?” Gase would fire back and question the reporter’s credentials. The reporter could then say, “Oh, it wasn’t just me who knows you made the wrong call. Troy Aikman and Tony Dungy, both Hall of Famers, mocked you too.”
Maybe Mr. Ross won’t listen to me when I state how Gase’s plays cost us games. But he may believe Hall of Famers. Maybe there’s hope.
Absolutely agree about the So Fla media. In New York or L.A., they would roast this coach alive and challenge key decisions. But here in Miami, they dwell on questions about injuries and culture.
ADMIN, in my opinion, it seems like the Dolphins organization think that getting gimmicky, it would somehow bring success to what has been so far a dismal two decades. But as we see, their efforts has led us fans to scratch our heads in bewilderment and you writing scathing article after scathing article about this head coach the Dolphins have now. You know how I’ve always felt about Gase. In my opinion, Gase is more hype than really being some kind of “football guru.”
Here is an example of two people having football acumen and their journey to acuire it and the people they studied under.
Bill Belichick:
1975 – assistant to head coach with the Baltimore Ravens.
1976 – assistant special teams coach with the Detroit Lions.
1978 – assistant special teams coach and defensive assistant with the Denver Broncos.
1979 to 1990 – defensive assistant and special teams coach, defensive coordinator, New York Giants.
1991 to 1995 – head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
1996 – assistant head coach and defensive backs coach with the Patriots.
1997 to 1999 – named the Jets interim head coach and became their head coach for one day. later, became the Jets assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
2000 to present – head coach of the New England Patriots as well as having almost total control of football operations.
Mentors:
Father, who was an assistant football coach at the United States Naval Academy, Ted Marchibroda, Ray Perkins, Bill Parcells.
Tony Dungy:
1980 – assistant coach for his alma mater, the University of Minnesota.
1981 – defensive backfield coach, defensive coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers.
1989 – defensive backs coach, Kansas City Chiefs.
1992 – defensive coordinator, Minnesota Vikings.
1996 – head coach, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
2002 to 2008 – head coach, Indianapolis Colts.
Mentors:
Chuck Noll, Marty Schottenheimer, Dennis Green.
Now lets contrast those two who actually played organized football on some level, to Adam Gase.
Adam Gase:
2000 – LSU Graduate assistant, recruiting assistant.
2003 – scouting assistant, offensive assistant, quarterbacks coach, Detroit Lions.
2008 – offensive assistant, San francisco forty niners.
2009 – wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, Denver Broncos.
2015 – offensive coordinator, Chicago Bears.
2016 to present – head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Mentors:
Nick Saban, Steve Mariucci, Rod Marinelli, Mike Nolan, Josh McDaniels, John Fox.
Now, I didn’t even go into Belichicks or Dungy’s coaching accomplishments. But we heard before the Dolphins hired Gase that he was some sort of “GENIUS.” yeah, right….
2015 – offensive coordinator, Chicago Bears
Were the Bears an offensive juggernaut? No. So why hire Gase/ Why give this clown a 3-4 year audition for a HC position? Why not hire the Rams coach? Or the Bills coach? Or ANYONE with a proven track record instead of giving 1 of just 32 jobs to a clown. Same goes for coordinator positions. Burke,the bearded monkey, has proven yet again he’s not up to the task. Ross could care less-he’s making guaranteed income. Maybe he doesn’t realize a winner will bring him more income! He is content with 5-7 wins every season and a 11-20 draft pick that rarely helps us because of the worst front office in football. Ross simply doesn’t care. And when the back office manages to get a pick closer to the top,what happens,draft bust after draft bust. Jobs secure no matter what for them b/c the owner isn’t involved/could care less. Fans are pissed with 5-7 wins year after year. We need to break up this crap team like Gruden is doing and start over,period.I was prior to the season,after 3 wins and now-THIS IS A CRAP TEAM!
Yes,the breakup will mean rebuilding and fewer wins/more pain but at least with a new HC,coordinators and front office,moving toward building a franchise with sustainability over the long haul.
The rams and eagles both hired offensive coordinators with no head coaching experience and they have worked out very well. I don’t think it’s purely background that determines a great head coach or not. Some people just aren’t cut out for leadership. The leader is supposed to oversee everything, not clash with team members, and hopefully have a low ego. Gase has literally none of those traits, he might be some offensive genius but his stubbornness and blantantly condescending attitude toward anyone criticizing him is IMO what stops him from being a good head coach. Some people just aren’t great leaders no matter how smart they are.
Good points, 27, but I think SOME experience has to be there. The Eagles hired a Super Bowl winner and ex-Dolphin (so you KNOW he learned a lot under Shula) in Doug Pederson to be their coach. He in turn found a former head coach to run his defense and found a smart, ex-QB with experience in 4 straight Super Bowls to run his offense. There is no way Pederson was stupid enough to give a few novices a try.
Ideally, a strong leader with some good experience is ideal. A weak leader with a lot of experience might be okay too. But a weak leader with no experience? Our staff is FULL of them.
By the way, a coach who is a good “teacher” is not a good trait. What can Gase possibly tech someone? “Today we’re going to learn why it’s important to throw a long bomb on 4th-and-one.”
Forth and 3 inches!
I get what your point FINSFAN27. But remember, Ross made it where Philbin answered only to him. Think about that. Joe Philbin, who demonstrated no winning atmosphere with the Dolphins organization, had nobody to worry about except the owner? I think it’s asinine steps like that that makes ADMIN grind his teeth. I think it’s idiotic moves like that that makes someone like KARMATOURER throw up his hands and say “what the f…?! And I haven’t seen anyone answer the question I asked about any other team hiring someone with no head coaching experience back to back like the Dolphins did. And yeah, we see teams other teams hire someone with “no head coaching experience,” but these teams always have one thing in they can fall back on – A Helluva Quarterback. What do the Dolphins have… a woefully inexperienced and arrogant head coach, and a person who was converted from wide receiver to quarterback in college. Yeah, that’s a winning formula if you ever wanna see one.
Good looking out for your fans Dolphins organization.
Where’s Brian to agree with you? He hates our assistants way more than u do LOL
I’m here FLORIDAN……. It’s not that I HATE them, it’s that I hate having so many guys with ZERO experience in the positions they are coaching. Literally every coach we have has never played that position or coached it before. Do you not see something wrong with that? I do and you see the results every game! This team sucks because there is no experience to lead it pure and simple.
Well, looks like defensive tackle Vincent Taylor might be gone for the rest of the season.
I’ll give it to you Gase, you’ve built one heckofva team.
It’s not gonna get any better this Sunday. With Taylor out who was the only good dlinemen Miami has (for some reason he played the least out of all the dlinemen tho just another horrible coaching decision) the Jets looked prime to run all over Miami. A couple weeks ago they had over 250 yards rushing against the Broncos and with a struggling rookie QB they won’t be afraid to run it up the middle every play. This game could get really ugly.
There’s a name that I’m surprised nobody has mentioned (yet) in the last 2 posts. I’m thinking in terms of who will be the next GM – the sooner the better. That name is none other than HOFer, Dan Marino. I know he tried it years ago,in the team president role, but it didn’t seem like his heart was really in it back then. Every time I see him now on TV (at the fins game) – I’m always thinking that THIS is who our GM should be, and not the current Clown we have now. His good friend John Elway could offer him alot of very knowledgeable, experienced advice on just how to do that job (correctly) in today’s NFL.
Hey ADMIN… you know the trade deadline came and went and the Dolphins didn’t make any moves. That’s because Gase feels confident with what he has and he reiterated that saying “I like where we’re at right now.”
Lol……
I guess he’s a captain that prefers to go down with his ship! Taylor out makes 10 guys on IR 7 of them starters. This will not make things any easier…
Taylor getting hurt should be a minor setback, Becasue we already have studs like Suh and Jordan Phillips as starters.
Oh, wait. Happy Halloween to Adam Gase.
“I like where we’re at right now” and “We just need to work out a few things to be better” are cliches of any Dolphins coach since Shula.
Gase seems to say it more than any of them. And why not? His boss allows him to say it.
“I like where we’re at right now” and “We just need to work out a few things to be better”
Such comforting words for the Adam Gase fans out there. 4 and 4, eight games left. The Dolphins must win, I think and hope, at least five of the these remaining eight games to get in the playoffs. Right now, that appears very daunting and doubtful.