Is Adam Gase the right guy to lead Dolphins? With poll

It’s been three days since the Miami Dolphins invested their future in first time head coach Adam Gase. Has that settled in yet?

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Over the past 72 hours Dolphins fans have been mixed about the addition of the head coach who has never led a team on any level. While Gase is praised for his work with quarterbacks many believe that he was hired simply for that reason alone. To work with Ryan Tannehill. But what if Tannehill doesn’t work out?

Gase is undertaking a monumental challenge in Miami. Comparisons to Joe Philbin are far from warranted or accurate but there is still many questions that need answering. For starters, who will his coordinators and coaching staff be?

Concern is growing in some circles about the rumored pursuit of Vance Joseph to head up the defensive side of the ball. Joseph has never coaches any higher than defensive backs. He currently holds the same position with the same team that Kevin Coyle had when he was hired by Philbin. That is about as close of a comparison as you will get between the two for me. That being said I am finding it very hard to understand why a first time head coach wouldn’t surround himself with top NFL coaching talent.

If I were Adam Gase I would be reaching out to guys like Mike Smith and Jim Schwartz to head my defense. Two former NFL head coaches who are very good at being coordinators. Both of those two men change the stigma on the defensive side of the ball. The team get’s better as a result of their hire. I would also be watching Detroit to see what happens with Teryl Austin. Another good defensive coach who knows how to prepare an entire side of the ball as opposed to just a six or seven guys.

Gase is young, the youngest coach in the NFL and if he succeeds the Dolphins will have a long solid future ahead of them. If he fails we go through this again in four years. Maybe five. Gase is going to get time whether that time is too much.

I don’t question Gase’s intelligence or his ability to run an offense or even elevate an offense. I like the fact he will be calling his own plays like Sean Payton does in New Orleans. To me that sends a message that the coach is entirely involved in the game. He isn’t watching someone elses play calls and questioning them. He answers to no one and he overrides no one in the play selection. But Gase is also inexperienced at this position.

There is a monumental difference from being a position coach or a coordinator and that of being a head coach. As the HC you run every aspect of the team. From practice schedules to dining room schedules, travel details, etc… Gase will almost certainly hand some of this off to Darren Rizzi who has been doing a lot of that the last two seasons but on the field is where it matters the most and that starts in the locker room with the attitude and culture of the team.

Players from Denver and Chicago rave about Adam Gase but it’s easy to respect your coordinator when he can concentrate his full attention on your side of the ball. Gase is going to have to balance the Dolphins history of dysfunction and while he has final say over the 53 man roster he basically is going to control the fate of maybe the bottom 10. All other personell decisions will be made above him. This includes player procurement and the draft.

Still as I sit back and try to absorb this, and yes I am 100% on the fence with this hire, I still can’t get the coaching staff out of my head. If Gase is so heralded then why are we talking about Vance Joseph? We should be talking about proven coaches with proven records. I can’t imagine that Gase walked in and pitched his case with Vance Joseph as a coordinator. Especially given the priority the team has put on finding solid people to work with the team.

As soon as I start to feel good about this hire, something quickly changes my mind. It doesn’t feel “right” for some reason. I applaud the Dolphins for conducting a thorough search, one that has been in the process since October, but I can’t help feeling as though we hired the name. The hot name of the season. To be fair I don’t really see better options this year. No other team has hired a head coach yet and that speaks volumes to the talent that is available.

While I liked the notion of a stronger seasoned coach like Mike Shanahan or Tom Coughlin the reality is they are four or five-year coaches at best. Hue Jackson was atop my list of candidates but he too doesn’t come without serious questions of his own. Teryl Austin? Defensive mind but he too would be a first time NFL head coach. Doug Marrone probably was the best real option for the Dolphins but honestly, from what I have researched, Marrone can often come across a bit egotistical in a childish way. Lacking conviction to prioritize at times what’s important. In addition I don’t like the way he left the Bills and that was troublesome to me.

That doesn’t leave much. Dan Campbell? As much as I would love to say yes, he isn’t ready. Not yet. And on top of that I’m not sure he could entice top coordinator either.

This off-season is critical for Miami and now is more critical to give Gase everything he needs to turn this team around. I’m not sold on it, chances are many of you are not sold either. We have seen this before. We saw it with Cam Cameron the offensive “genius”. We saw this with Tony Sparano and Joe Philbin.

We know that Gase is a good coach but is he a good leader? He hasn’t had to lead players yet. He will now. Does he have the power and wherewithal to handle the criticism that will come his way and still be able to sort out the locker room and change it’s culture? Can he scheme to fit players and positions where there is little or no quality depth? These are some of the things that bother me about this hire. You would think that hiring a head coach would answer the “can he” questions leaving only the “will he” questions. With Gase, I’m simply not sure he can because he hasn’t had to.

What do you think? In most of our polls we give you a simple out with a “wait and see” answer. I want to sample the feeling of the fan base opinion and make you stand on one side of the fence and not the other. Is Adam Gase a good hire for the Dolphins?

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