The Adam Gase mystery

When the Dolphins announced that they hired Adam Gase as their new head coach, “leader” wasn’t exactly the first word to come to mind. Although a number of high profile athletes and respected coaches around the league have praised Gase for his football intellect, he still remains somewhat of a mystery—and dare I say,  he reminds me a little of Joe Philbin.

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It takes more than one man to change a culture; it takes the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice of a lot of men to accomplish such a feat. But through this journey of change, there needs to be one man that calls the shots. There needs to be one man who unites the masses who practices what he preaches. There needs to be a leader.

You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the “deer in headlights” look that Gase gave in his press-conference soon after he landed the head coaching job of the Miami Dolphins; it’s the same look that Dolphins fans grew accustomed to with Joe Philbin walking the sidelines. Look, I’m not trying to attack these men solely on their physical demeanor, but in a game as violent as American football, body language goes a long way.

The knock on Joe Philbin was that he was sort of a dork. Many people knocked Joe Philbin on his inability to gather up the troops and lead them into battle. Philbin didn’t have the charisma or the right presence to demand respect on or off the field. In fact, we routinely saw this play out in the way the Dolphins played, particularly in the first quarter of games: slow, flat, and uninspired.

The Dolphins were in desperate need of someone who could light a fire under their ass and motivate them into the team many people thought they could be: a tough, talented, winning one. Dolphins fans across the country thought they were getting that in interim head coach Dan Campbell—they were wrong. Campbell’s valiant effort only lasted a few short weeks and before we could blink, the Dolphins were back to their old, lackluster ways.

Despite looking the part, Campbell wasn’t the man for the job. And now, in comes the “quarterback guru” Adam Gase. Although more experienced than Campbell, Gase has zero head coaching experience and regrettably mirrors Philbin in that aspect. In fact, the only credentials Gase has to his name worth noting is helping Jay Cutler throw fewer interceptions last year. Yes, of course, he also coached Peyton Manning. But truthfully, how much “coaching” went on there? Manning, known historically for his ability to audible at the line of scrimmage and design offensive game plans, would have been as successful with just about anyone coaching from the sideline.

If Miami doesn’t buy into what Gase is selling, it appears we’ll be in for another long, unsuccessful stretch of seasons. Hopefully Gase and his staff can reverse the tide of a culture that has recently been inundated with mediocrity. It’s going to take a lot.

As of right now, it’s a waiting game. We don’t know exactly what we have in Adam Gase. But we will soon find out. Fingers crossed.