Miami Dolphins end with a whimper but off-season starts with a bang
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins ended their season in embarrassing fashion with a whimpering loss to the Bills in New York. Today, everything changed.
Early morning reports have indicated that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has fired head coach Adam Gase following the return trip home. The reasons are not clear but the preparation that the team has shown in recent weeks, is likely part of the reason.
With Gase now gone and his coaching staff sure to follow sooner rather than later the changes that have been talked about and rumored the last few weeks are now starting to become reality. While the season ended with a whimper, the off-season is starting with a bang.
Miami’s loss on Sunday was more than embarrassing. The players didn’t appear ready to play and when they were on the field they didn’t appear to care if they won or loss. There was no fight and no drive. Following the game right tackle Ja’Wuan James spoke about the offense not having any real direction and seemed to just be out there to play.
There has been no word on the status of Chris Grier or Mike Tannenbaum but it now seems as though Ryan Tannehill will also be searching for a new team. However that will now fall on the decision of a new head coach and possibly a new general manager.
Adam Gase’s grew increasingly frustrated over the final weeks of the season but there was no one for him to blame considering that he had final say over his roster in full. The depth on the team was not good and that too was on his shoulders.
The loss to the Bills was a defining moment for the Adam Gase era who ended his time in Miami two games below .500 after arriving with a promise of resurrecting a big offensive powerhouse. Gase attached himself to Tannehill and in the process couldn’t get the team prepared.
Miami simply had no visual desire to play in Buffalo where the Bills honored 13 year veteran Kyle Williams who played his last NFL game on Sunday. Matt Burke’s defense was so bad that when Williams lined up in the backfield, the defensive tackle wasn’t covered despite everyone knowing that the ball was going to end up in his hands. He picked up nine yards on a swing pass.
With the season now over, Stephen Ross will once again try to retool his team but if history has been any indication, we probably shouldn’t get too excited.