Adam Gase -- once compared to a young Don Shula -- must avoid failed Dolphins coach’s career arc

[DKphin]

Almost a decade later I’m seeing past events start to resemble the present. I see Adam Gase’s Dolphins career arc starting to resemble that of Tony Sparano.
The Dolphins were that good in 2008 because of the Wildcat, yes, but because quarterback Chad Pennington played like an NFL MVP. And, this just in to Miami Herald headquarters, MVP quarterback play will get you a winning record and into the playoffs.
The problem was Pennington came to the Dolphins with a history of being injured and, sure enough, he started the first three games the following year before going down for the year with a shoulder injury.
So in Sparano’s second year he lost his starting quarterback and his team’s record fell from 11-5 to 7-9.
Fast forward to 2016. Gase came to South Florida young and brash and full of confidence. And then he promptly lost four of his first five games. His first team was sucking wind early in the year just like Sparano’s did.
Then stuff happened.
Running back Jay Ajayi became a thing.
Ryan Tannehill became a good game manager rather than a player on whose shoulders the offense rested.
The defense played well enough.
The last-place schedule helped.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article191718234.html

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

My initial gut reaction to seeing this headline from Armando: Mike T is panicking.

I've felt for a while now that Mike Tannenbaum is the guy feeding Armando scoops and 'insights' from inside the team facilities, just based on how all of the facts fit together with his reporting, and how his reported has changed in tone over the past couple of years.

So if Armando Salguero is suddenly dumping on Adam Gase and comparing him to past failed Dolphins coaches after writing nothing but puff piece after puff piece about him...

I think that's good. A panicked Mike Tannenbaum means he got wind that his job ain't safe. I don't think Tannenbaum has been quite the disaster that some others do, but I don't think he has earned the right to be comfortable in his job right now.

 

[Tannchise]

we very well could have made a mistake again. Cam Cameron was an offensive guru too. Just like at qb, coaches need to feel pressure too to make sure they don't get complacent.

 

[uk_dolfan]

My initial gut reaction to seeing this headline from Armando: Mike T is panicking.

I've felt for a while now that Mike Tannenbaum is the guy feeding Armando scoops and 'insights' from inside the team facilities, just based on how all of the facts fit together with his reporting, and how his reported has changed in tone over the past couple of years.

So if Armando Salguero is suddenly dumping on Adam Gase and comparing him to past failed Dolphins coaches after writing nothing but puff piece after puff piece about him...

I think that's good. A panicked Mike Tannenbaum means he got wind that his job ain't safe. I don't think Tannenbaum has been quite the disaster that some others do, but I don't think he has earned the right to be comfortable in his job right now.

Armando has always been good at talking with the front office

Tannenbaum dumped a **** team on Gase two years in a row. Gase worked miracles in year one. Now Tannenbaum has been exposed and is crapping hinself as he knows he cant fix it

When we hired Gase I said I worried we would never give him a good roster and we would have to watch him win a ring with his second team. To avoid this the fo must be purged, the sooner the better.

 

[Bob512]

Armando has always been good at talking with the front office

Tannenbaum dumped a **** team on Gase two years in a row. Gase worked miracles in year one. Now Tannenbaum has been exposed and is crapping hinself as he knows he cant fix it

When we hired Gase I said I worried we would never give him a good roster and we would have to watch him win a ring with his second team. To avoid this the fo must be purged, the soonee the better.

I think you have an excellent point about the roster.

Gase is a solid coach. Not perfect....but I like most of what I have seen so far. If JDW is right and Tannenbaum is worried, that is a VERY good thing.

 

[Tannchise]

will Ross even have a sit down with this guy and ask the hard questions? The bad contracts last season gives us no flexibility. We signed a bunch of players way too soon or way too long

 

[Danny]

I agree with those who said we need to keep Gase but I also say that we need to draft a QB early this coming April. I'm sick of putting all eggs in one basket. I've been a Tannehill supporter from the start but we don't know if he'll be able to stay healthy. If he does then I feel good about our chances but what is so wrong with drafting a QB that could be the guy if anything goes wrong with Tannehill? Do we want Moore or Cutler again? I sure don't so Tannehill coming back is great news but for once lets just cover ourselves and have a real plan B in place

Ozzy rules!!

 

[Tannchise]

I agree with those who said we need to keep Gase but I also say that we need to draft a QB early this coming April. I'm sick of putting all eggs in one basket. I've been a Tannehill supporter from the start but we don't know if he'll be able to stay healthy. If he does then I feel good about our chances but what is so wrong with drafting a QB that could be the guy if anything goes wrong with Tannehill? Do we want Moore or Cutler again? I sure don't so Tannehill coming back is great news but for once lets just cover ourselves and have a real plan B in place

Ozzy rules!!

it's got to be the most debated topic in the history of Phins Football. here is another angle: How many times has a 30 year old qb, coming off surgery, has had his team elite for 4-5 years? Because that's what we are asking for right?

 

[finmann]

If I was Gase, I would pick up another QB......preferably a young one.

 

[Blackcreekbandit]

it's got to be the most debated topic in the history of Phins Football. here is another angle: How many times has a 30 year old qb, coming off surgery, has had his team elite for 4-5 years? Because that's what we are asking for right?

Not saying tannehill is Brees or Manning but both of those qbs off the top of my head did what you said.

 

[Vaark]

Shula is an unfair benchmark to judge any other coach by. He was fantastic with a winning season right out of the box in Baltimore. Not many HCs can emulate that and certainly not Bill Belichick!

If Armando wants to draw comparative analogies, a better one would be Tannenbum as the de facto GM being yet another front office fail in a long line of them. And that's the head of the snake that needs to be chopped off.

 

[Austin Tatious]

I like Gase but the apparent stubbornness could doom him in Miami. The penalties, lack of discipline, turnovers, and missed assignments do not seem to be a coincidence, and I question whether Gase really believes he needs a top down makeover on emphasis so these things are fixed. I’d like him to stand at the podium and acknowledge that he gets it, and he will do whatever it takes to have a disciplined, smart team.

I think this team could have won ten games with Tannehill and more disciplined play. Look at KC. Two fumbles. No takeaways. Drive killing penalties. A ton of missed tackles due to unsound play. Wrap up for crying out loud. The Dolphins were whipped but if you charted these errors and their effect, you might have seen a game flip on its ear. Same thing with that farce of a game Cutler played against Buffalo.

If Gase really, truly fixes the self-defeating play, then I will be highly impressed and think we’ve got a ten year guy. If he comes in next year with the same crap, then he will lose the fan base.

I will say this. If he implodes here, he will be more akin to Josh McDaniels than Sparano or Philbin. Those two are not in the pipeline to ever get another head job. Gase, like McDaniels, will be perceived as a guy who already cut his teeth and learned from his mistakes. Gase, unlike Sparano and Philbin, has the combination of leadership, aggressiveness, and strategy you don’t see every day.

 

[roy_miami]

Armando has always been good at talking with the front office

Tannenbaum dumped a **** team on Gase two years in a row. Gase worked miracles in year one. Now Tannenbaum has been exposed and is crapping hinself as he knows he cant fix it

When we hired Gase I said I worried we would never give him a good roster and we would have to watch him win a ring with his second team. To avoid this the fo must be purged, the sooner the better.

I disagree, I think its an 8-8 roster at worst and Gase is exactly 16-16 right now. So he's not moving the needle. I think the talent is being mismanaged, especially on the defensive side. And some of the young players Tannenbaum brought in are looking like good players, Howard, Drake and Grant to name a few.

And Tannenbaum should be worried. He is probably feeling like he's been sold a bill of goods in believing Gase can make chicken salad out of chicken **** no matter which scrub QB he chooses to whisper in the ear of.

 

[fin415]

we very well could have made a mistake again. Cam Cameron was an offensive guru too. Just like at qb, coaches need to feel pressure too to make sure they don't get complacent.

Yes, because professionals who know they can be replaced at the drop of a hat and loose a once in a lifetime jobs/pay check need extra motion of actually seeing their replacement.....

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Part of me still thinks its as simple as fixing the offensive line. Name a playoff team that has a below average offensive line? It just doesn't happen very often.

There are other needs as well, but that is a huge one.

As far as Gase goes, the sloppy play and the number of penalties definitely doesn't bode well. He's got to get the team more focused in those areas, or his coaching career will go down quickly.