Dolphins’ Adam Gase needs to untie his career from Ryan Tannehill
By Brian Miller
Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase has had Ryan Tannehill for exactly 18 games since becoming the head coach for the Dolphins, time to move on.
When the 2018 season ends and the 2019 off-season begins quarterback will be the biggest topic heading into that long off-season. For Adam Gase it could be the beginning of the end depending on the decision the team makes before next year.
In those 18 games the Dolphins are 11-7. Three of those wins came out of the gate in 2018. Six of those games were won in a row in 2016. When Adam Gase says that he believe in Ryan Tannehill and that he hasn’t “come close to his ceiling” it’s easy to understand why Gase may think this. The problem however is that if Adam Gase believes this much in Ryan Tannehill, it will run him out of Miami.
Ryan Tannehill is no longer that “iron-man” quarterback. He is now considered injury prone. There is no new information that suggests Tannehill will be back in 2018 and if that is the case then the assumption that he will be available in 2019 should also be questioned. And if he does return, Miami needs to have a far more capable back-up.
The reality is that Tannehill can no longer be relied up on to last a full season and play at a high level. He simply looks very little different this year than he did in his rookie season under Joe Philbin. At least without breaking down each throw from every game. Has he played better under Gase? Absolutely but Gase would be foolish to believe that Tannehill is going to take his team deep into the playoffs.
One problem exists with Tannehill outside of injury. He simply can not do it himself. He can’t carry this team on his shoulder. He needs a lot of support from every other position. That works well when players are healthy or the defense is special but over the last six-year injuries have taken hard tolls on both sides of the ball and the defense has been extremely inconsistent.
Moving on from Tannehill won’t be easy either. Adam Gase is in between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Earlier today we talked about Gase’s future and how the fan base are growing tired of him. You can read that here. We teased in that article that Gase’s connection to Ryan Tannehill could be his undoing but at what point does Stephen Ross say enough is enough?
The question of Tannehill’s future with the Dolphins will be answered this off-season. It is hard to believe that Gase will summarily wave his hand to his bosses and say let’s move on, more than likely he will pound his fist. But Gase needs a quarterback that can be better than average. He needs a quarterback who can make the throws, lead the team, and has that killer drive that Tannehill lacks.
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Miami could look to the draft for help but that comes with a problem as well. A rookie QB in this class isn’t going to light up the scoreboard. There is no Patrick Mahomes ready to lead and any quarterback that is drafted is going to need a year to learn, ideally. That means that Tannehill likely stays on through 2019. That would be fine except for one question. Is Stephen Ross willing to give Adam Gase through the 2020 season if they draft a quarterback in 2019?
He may have to.
If the Dolphins draft a quarterback in 2019 they need to give Gase time to develop that quarterback into a starter and then judge Gase on that performance of his offense. Tannehill right now is a handcuff to Adam Gase and the fact that Gase, Mike Tannenbaum, and Chris Grier have failed to add a legitimate quarterback to compete with Tannehill is a big problem that the team is dealing with now.
In three seasons the Dolphins could have drafted a quarterback prospect that could learn and compete for playing time. Claiming Luke Falk off waivers doesn’t count. The evaluation process is skewed. Now we are talking about the future of the franchise and whether or not Adam Gase will be a part of it. One thing we do know is that he will have to decide if he is willing to bank his head coaching career with the Dolphins on Ryan Tannehill or find a player that can replace him. The latter might very well buy him a little more time.
The reality is that Ryan Tannehill is not a bad quarterback but the supporting cast has to be much better than what it is. The Dolphins have to be able to see that. Bringing Tannehill back in 2019 makes a lot of sense for both Gase and the team. He is well-respected and liked by his teammates and the organization but if the Dolphins do not find reasonable competition behind him then the 2019 season may prove to be the last for both coach and quarterback.