Guys have been posting up on these boards that Gase is now building his offense/his team. They're right. But Gase has been doing that since he got here. What he is doing now is scorched earth. He is creating his own "Patriot Way" in South Beach. Gaseway or highway. He is done compromising and done being the fun player's coach. He knows if the trends continue he will lose his HC job. It's almost as if he is taking this personal. If players don't take his message to heart and do their jobs, it is HIS JOB they are messing with. That's insulting to him. Big name or not, he will shut that crap down and ship you out. And whether you agree with his moves or not, Gase has told us change is coming. He knows that change will upset the fan base. He's flat out said it. But Gase is swinging now. I really don't think TBaum is as much of a factor in these dealings as our fan base is suggesting. Gase is fighting for his job and he will not let certain players get in the way. Ajayi, Timmons and Landry were on Gase's cross off list. No doubt about it. Suh...I really do believe Gase favored Suh and his consistent force on defense. This might truly be a cap casualty that Gase required to add other pieces he needs. He is thinking big picture.
A lot of teams want to copy the "Patriot Way". Every year they seem to let players leave in free agency or trade them away and replace them with players generally ditched by other teams because they were ineffective and they make them effective. Dion Lewis was on three teams and did nothing noteworthy before the Patriots picked him up in 2015, he's just signed a four year deal with the Titans. They sent a 7th round pick to Detroit for Kyle Van Noy, a former second round pick who was a bust for Detroit, yet in New England he's become one of their starting linebackers and they are getting production out of him. In 2016, they traded away Chandler Jones to Arizona (before regular season) and Jamie Collins to Cleveland (during regular season) and they didn't miss them, they even lost Donta Hightower to a season ending injury and they still went on to win a Super Bowl.
Let's be honest, as much as every team wants to copy the "Patriot Way" it is not a realistic model to copy. They are a special team. Just because they can let players walk in free agency or trade them away rather than pay them lucrative contracts, then replace them with players at a fraction of a price, doesn't mean that every team can do that. Many have tried but fail because they don't have the same success rate at finding those hidden gems in free agency (e.g. Dion Lewis), or manage to get the best out of players that flopped elsewhere (e.g. Kyle Van Noy). I'm sure Adam Gase would love to be able to replicate the Patriot model, but is it realistic for him to expect our front office with its reputation to be able to do that? Not really. We don't consistently draft well. We aren't great at finding hidden gems. We don't have a great hit ratio on free agents. When we let our in house talent leave we don't always replace them with upgrades or at the least players of a similar caliber. Essentially, if Gase wants the "Patriot Way", I think he is on the wrong team with our front office.
Gase wants to win. His ego is wrapped up in his offenses. His offenses played like "garbage" and he knows a bum offense is a reflection upon him. He is pushing back. Former Broncos players have said he is not the same fun loving guy that he was before. A potential positive in all of this is that perhaps Gase will finally start to get the players that he NEEDS for his offense to be effective. Clearly it is personnel specific. As much as he says he adapts his offense to fit players, the track record says that doesn't work for him. Specific players have to fit his specific offense.
I think a lot of people would have had fun coaching that Bronco's offense. He took over the gig from Mike McCoy who actually had a tougher job. McCoy had to deal with Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow, and he actually managed to tweak his offense to get the best out of Tebow (they actually made the play offs and beat the Steelers), then he got the opportunity to coach a returning Peyton Manning and change his offense again. What did Gase have to do in Denver? Takeover an already prolific offense with a future hall of fame quarterback under center. No wonder he had fun because in year one as their OC Peyton Manning broke the NFL record for passing yards and passing TDs (5477 yards and 55 TDs) and in his second year he was still prolific (4727 yards and 39 TDs).
At the end of the day he had to go to Chicago and spend a year coaching Jay Cutler, then came here and ultimately ended up coaching Jay Cutler again. It is no wonder he has stopped having fun and become a brooding head coach!
As for his system. I would tend to agree that it is personnel specific and that is part of the reason for the team regressing last season. I just hope that his system works when he does get the players that fit his system, otherwise all of his brooding, stomping his feet, throwing his toys out of his pram, and cleaning house will all be for nothing and we'll be starting over in a years time.
A potential negative outcome to all of this...the enemy becomes his own team. Part of us like his no nonsense, calling his own players out in public and holding them accountable approach. The other part knows that can be hurtful to the locker room. If Gase is taking all of this personal, then his fun loving or "players coach" attitude that won him over with so many players in his past might be gone. If so, I think his success will fade away as well. He is going to have to find that balance of keeping it fun for his men, but holding them to the highest standards. A feat few coaches master. But if he continues his scorched earth mentality into 2018, I believe he will start to lose the men he is trying to lead, even the" good ones." Here's hoping for the balance.
I have no issue with a coach wanting a certain type of locker room or player, but this is a talent driven league and sometimes you will have to deal with certain types of players and find ways to get along with them and get the best out of them. I'm sure Bill Belichick has not had 53 choir boys on every roster he's coached in New England. Don Shula certainly never had 53 choir boys every season in Miami. Bill Walsh never had 53 choir boys in San Francisco. This is a talent driven league and some of the best players in the league are not always the easiest players to manage. Some of them can be a pain in the backside like Terrell Owens, or you have to deal with Steve Smith's trash talk and attitude (he got sent home for punching a teammate, he apparently clashed with Cam Newton). Gase needs to learn to deal with those personalities because he can't expect to have 53 choir boys on his roster that are going to toe the line and never do their own thing. In this league you can't afford to ship talented players off to other teams because you can't deal with their personality and find a way to get the best out of them, or at least not if you want to be successful.
