Coaches often face a wave of adversity. I think this is the early wave for Gase. Sure, we could see the first 5 games as a wave, but coaches are always seeing that. Now, with his QB going down unnecessarily (everyone within the organization knew he should get the surgery last year), bulking up greatly across the LB corps and losing half of that to again have LB woes, then having your 2 OL solutions (Larsen via FA and Asiata via the draft) not contributing, your seam threat solution not have it anymore, having blown your cap on a QB who isn't performing. And now to have our fickle fan base start to turn on you.
Yeah, it's definitely a wave of adversity.
Nevermind that only 2 teams in the NFL are ahead of us in the all-important loss column. Nevermind that our coaching staff has, once again, managed to win 100% of the close games so far this year. Nevermind that we have not yet lost a game at home this year. Sure, the sample size on everything is ridiculously small and not really even worth measuring. And, we have definitely not looked good doing it. But, we've shown that our defense is starting to come together. We've shown that our emphasis on special teams has produced a good product. We've shown that we have the RB to make this offense great ... and if only we had the OL and QB working well we could get the most out of the RB and our talented WR corps.
Will Gase get fired? No. For all of the negativity we throw at Ross, he has shown some self-awareness. Ross knows that he is clueless about football, and that's an important thing to know. So he focuses on what he should focus on ... finding people who do know football and getting their advice. Looking at the processes of the winning teams and not fouling up those processes here. So the good teams give their coaches time to develop. They don't fire a Jimmy Johnson after one abysmal year (they wait until they're on the verge of a dynasty to kill the goose that lays the golden egg!). They give a Mike Tomlin time to grow into the job and find his way without pressure of being fired. They hire coaches with the right mental makeup to weather adversity. They let the coaches coach and stand behind their coaches rather than let the players undermine the coach by going directly to the owner. So no, Ross is not going to fire Gase. While Ross may not be the most competent football guy, at least he realizes that and has learned to give his young coach the time needed to grow.
Will Gase quit? Nothing in his makeup, interaction with the front office, staff, players or media suggests that. Everything he has shown is that he is a fighter who is 100% committed to making our team better. Rightly, he will defend the team from the press if he feels the team is being threatened. But he also knows when to be a straight shooter. He isn't afraid to accept blame when he deserves it, nor is he hesitant to accept blame when it is not his fault but it will help the team to take on the role of scapegoat. He is all about winning, and his strong shoulders are fully capable of taking the strain that comes with the adversity of losing. He is unflinching in his commitment to the team. No, Gase will not quit.
Should Gase go? All of the decision makers recognize the dominos falling against us this season. Injuries to key players, impact of a devastating hurricane in the area, loss of a home game to London, loss of a bye week to that hurricane, probably the most travel miles of any team in the NFL this year, unfavorable schedule, etc., etc., etc. While they're not giving Gase a pass on the season, none of the decision makers is going to advocate getting rid of Gase even if this turns out to be a rough year. But, if we cannot eek out a winning season, it certainly puts more pressure on next year. No, Gase should not go this season or next offseason. He deserves the chance, and has earned the chance, to get 3 full years to make this team a winner.
How will the fanbase fare? Well, this is that time when a beleaguered coach figures out who is with him, and who is simply a bandwagon fan. It's the time when he sees which journalist is buying in to the team's vision, and who is just interested in clickbait and riding the wave of public opinion and controversy as a substitute for analysis and reporting. If I understand Gase, I'd imagine that he is taking copious notes of who has his back, who is treating him fairly in their evaluation, and who is just feasting on our misery right now. I'd also imagine that these notes dictate how he interacts with the media once we start winning again. And we will start winning again.
