Adam Gase invites Mike Martz to Dolphins practice
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins have had a lot of visitors to their practices this year but former NFL head coach Mike Martz is unique.
Quietly, Mike Martz appeared at the practices for the Miami Dolphins this week. As he silently slipped in, it didn’t go unnoticed by the media in attendance. Why was the former coach in Miami? Because Adam Gase invited him.
Gase told reporters after practice that he asked the man behind the “Greatest Show on Turf” to come to Miami so he could pick his brain a bit. The two have an extensive history and a long friendship. Gase worked as a scout and as a quarterbacks coach previously under Martz.
Clearly Gase is looking for pointers, tips, and information that he may be missing as the team prepares for its third pre-season game and the start of the regular season.
"“I called him last week. We were just talking about some stuff. I always feel like he’s got a lot going on. He’ll say he doesn’t, but I know he does. I asked if he had any time this week – with us kind of getting into an in-season week of practice and game planning, things like that – so I asked him to come down. He was available, so he was able to come down this whole week and kind of spend some time with us. I thought it would be good. Some of our coaches know him; some of them don’t. It’s been great for me because I’ve been able to pick his brain on just some different things that we’ve never really talked about before.” – Adam Gase via MiamiDolphins.com"
Martz was a fantastic offensive coordinator and a pretty good head coach but his high-octane offense that was dubbed the “Greatest Show on Turf” was something special. Run by Hall of Fame players Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk. Gase will have the entire week to pick his brain.
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Clearly Gase is working to get his offense clicking sooner rather than later. Miami leads the entire NFL in rushing yards per attempt through two pre-season games with a 5.2 yards per carry average. It’s in the red-zone however that Miami struggles.
Granted the Dolphins have only rolled with their first unit for about three-quarters but the Dolphins offensive line is playing very well in the trenches, when they are not committing pre-snap penalties.
What kind of effect will Martz have? He has met with some of the coaches and has talked to some of the players as well. He will be able to give them guidance and advice but the real benefit is for Adam Gase who can hang out with his mentor and simply pick his brain.
Perhaps next week he can bring in John Fox a former defensive coordinator and head coach who could have some valuable information for Matt Burke. The Dolphins defense has been a bit lackluster thus far and Fox was a pretty darn good defensive coach before becoming a head coach.