What was the Joe Vitt thing?
As Chambers said, Gase hired his father-in-law as a consultant, and the guy is a crusty, old-school hardass. Although everyone remembers his beef with Ajayi in 2016, Gase was really more of a players' coach at that time... you could see it in how he interacted with the players and how they responded to him. After Vitt came on and he made some other staff changes, Gase became a lot more aloof, even with the press.
I think Vance Joseph was also a very good influence on him as far as his coaching style. Vance is definitely a players' coach and had a high degree of responsibility in that first season. I think the two of them working together resulted in a better team culture, more accountability for the staff, and more openness to change when things weren't working. What we've seen now with Gase in the last three seasons is coaching that is just incredibly insular. Not connecting with players, stonewalling the press, and very stubborn with respect to scheme, playcalling, and personnel assignments.
Gase is a smart person who knows a LOT of football. I still think there's a chance he salvages his head coaching career if he eats a massive serving of humble pie, but he's going to have to eat that quickly. At this rate I'm not sure he survives to week 17.