Dolphins Coach Watch: Adam Gase is Joe Philbin 2.0

With the Miami Dolphins season over, the search for a coach has officially begun. The candidate many teams are pining for is Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, but hiring him would be a mistake for the Dolphins.

More from Dolphins News

• 4 offensive tackles Miami Dolphins could draft at 51
• Miami Dolphins don’t need CB help but these 5 could be available at 51
• 4 players that could replace Wilkins if Miami Dolphins don’t re-sign him
• Miami Dolphins have a starting point with Wilkins after Simmons deal
• The Miami Dolphins should not take a running back in the draft

Let’s just jump right into this. While the Dolphins have scheduled an interview with him, Gase has not done much to prove himself ready as an NFL head coach. He just wrapped up his first season as offensive coordinator of the Bears and the results are unimpressive.

The Bears went 6-10 this season (that sounds familiar) and their offense ranked 21st in yards and 23rd in points. Furthermore, the passing stats were worse. Through the air, the Bears finished 25th in attempts and 23rd in completions and touchdowns. Meanwhile, Gase’s offenses have all had ground games that finished 20th in yards per attempt.

He wasn’t without his merits, though. Gase did get more out of his perennially overrated quarterback Jay Cutler. Cutler threw 11 interceptions, one of the lowest totals in his career, and 21 touchdowns the sixth time in his career the quarterback has broken the 20-touchdown mark.

Cutler put together his highest rating (92.3) and third best quarterback rating (60.67) under Gase. Cutler’s advanced stats all went up too, but no career highs or anything. In fact, Cutler’s touchdown percentage actually matched a career low.

But this was Gase’s first real season as a coordinator. Remember, the big reason teams want Gase as their new head coach is because of the job he did in Denver. However, in Denver Gase had this guy named Peyton Manning who has practically been an offensive coordinator for a good chunk of his career.

As a result, Gase’s numbers with the Broncos were ridiculous. He has a top-ranked offense in 2013 and a top five ranked offense in 2014 on his resume thanks to Manning.

But as one would expect, the passing numbers skewed those totals. The aerial attack for Denver mirrored those overall offensive rankings while the running game never cracked the top 10 in attempts or yards.

In fact, it was only until Gase let C.J. Anderson play that the Broncos found any running game at all in 2014.

Joe Philbin had all of those things too. A top ranked offense as coordinator in Green Bay. Elite quarterbacks in Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. And someone else calling the shots offensively in Mike McCarthy. But to his credit, Philbin held the position for five seasons before he took a head coaching job.

Gase only has three years experience. Is that really enough time to learn the in’s and out’s of being an NFL head coach? To learn how to lead grown men? Many of whom have egos that are larger than their paychecks.

Not with this attitude:

One thing you don’t do to earn the respect of your players is take pot shots at one of your former guys. Especially one that saved your running game in the prior campaign.

This drew the attention of Brandon Spano of BSNDenver, who had this to say at the time:

"Many Broncos players that I talked to over the course of the year told me that they were surprised that CJ was never inserted into the line-up earlier because he was “that good” in practice. Gase wasn’t apparently much of a talent evaluator either."

So don’t fall for the hype, Dolphins fans. Gase lacks the experience, the results, the mind and the leadership to become the team’s next head coach. Everything great on his resume is the result of someone else’s work just like the Dolphins’ old ball coach.

Hopefully, owner Stephen Ross and executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum learned that lesson already.

They don’t need Philbin 2.0.