Miami Dolphins Can Do No Right According To Some

So the 2016 head coaching, cannon ball run racing circuit has concluded 6/7ths of an entire lap, and the Miami Dolphins demanded the drivers seat to take the first RIGHT turn down Adam Gase Avenue. As the most youthful road on the map Gase avenue has yet to be paved though he's every-bit as prominent a direction to getting around NFL town versus the opposing traffic.

Of course the same TV, radio show host, and/or call in to hear their own voice skeptics that suggested in past acquisitions that the Dolphins waited too long and ended-up with the bottom of the barrel, are in 2016 screaming at the bumper in front of them that Miami acted too fast in making their number one target of the 37 year old Gase into their own personalized license plate. The Dolphins had their choice of pretty much whatever model they may have wanted as they came to their conclusion an entire week before any of the other six teams just recently decided on their choice's of fuel mileage. Minus Tennessee's Titans. Who may go with the lone remaining viable option Doug Marrone (51) with the same NFL years as Gase (37)?

None landed the obvious Vince Lombardi who didn't exist in this pile-up,
or Don Shula (though two franchises went with the up-and-coming route of youth)!

New York's Giants parted ways with long time (since the 1800's) guru Tom Coughlin while still under contract which meant that he couldn't be spoken to without the permission of the Giants while only rival Philadelphia bothered. The franchise of G-Men replaced Coughlin with their offensive coordinator of two years Ben McAdoo who at (38) becomes the leagues second youngest head coach. He has 12 NFL years with just the two as an offensive coordinator.


Tampa Bay promoted their own offensive coordinator of one year with a name we all know (snicker), Dirk Koetter who is (57). He has just nine years in the NFL though all nine are as someones offensive coordinator (Jags 2007 - 11, Falcons o12 - o14, and 2015 with the Bucs).


Philadelphia's Eagles (though not official until Kansas City's playoff run is completed) have been ticketed to hire a name that we all actually do know in Doug Pederson who was at one time the backup quarterback in Miami to Danny Marino. The Eagles go from Chip Kelly to Pederson who at (47) has just seven years NFL coaching experience with the last three as the Chiefs offensive coordinator.


San Francisco with the selection of recently fired Chip Kelly (52) may have made the biggest splash as far as name and head coaching experience goes while also revitalizing the nearly extinguished career of quarterback Colin Kaepernick who's skill-set fits nicely into Kelly's schemes. Kelly has been in the NFL for three years with all as the Eagles head coach 2013 - 2015, (well almost through 2015 before being FIRED) by a 6 - 9 at the time organization. Had the Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor survived the 2015 season, Chip Kelly would have been a good fit for Miami, but Lazor's play-calling had obviously hamstrung quarterback Ryan Tannehill. So Lazor got the boot, and with him went his NFL methods learned via Chip Kelly.


The Browns chose the FIFTY year old Hue Jackson who has an accrued 15 year NFL coaching career with four as an offensive coordinator, and one as a head coach in 2011 with the Oakland Raiders. Miami had a scheduled interview with Jackson that they chose to cancel in hiring the nearly as experienced though inferior in age by 13 years Adam Gase. Should all go as planned for both teams? When Gase is FIFTY he'll have 27 NFL years with the same one year fewer as a head coach to Hue Jackson who at that same point in time will qualify for Social Security, (along with all the others besides McAdoo & Gase).


Miami snapped-up who was obviously their top guy in the Thirty-Seven year old Adam Gase! He has tabulated (literally) 13 NFL years coaching experience with three as an offensive coordinator before the Dolphins jump-started the opportunity to give him their head coach position for the next five years over six other interviewee's they considered. Those potentialities included the heavily liver spotted Mike Shanahan, Mike Smith, Doug Marrone, Teryl Austin, Anthony Lynn, and the only one of youth Dan Campbell (38) while the gathered three month long list eliminated some 20 plus other potential candidates. Gase had been a hot commodity as a suggested ""quarterback whisperer"" in other teams head coaching searches over each of the last four years, he was even a consideration of Miami's back in 2012 before the hiring of the not so affectionately referred to Droopy-Dog.

The Dolphins (unlike the casual skeptic) began their homework assignment three months ago on the day that the previous unmentionable (wouldn't want to cause a stir) head coach was fired. They weren't permitted to drive to the homes and socialize with potential suitors but they investigated every dirt road along the way in finding the shortest route to their destination, and when the meter maids time-frame permitted they swooped-in ahead of a bunch of old men to park it on Adam Gase Avenue.


The so called "experts" have Miami with Gase as the third best head coaching selection while they go on to suggest that he may have been the number one guy if not for being just 37. Why with a very similar resume to all the others is Gase being penalized for youth? Vigorous youth and hunger are a good thing. When you have equally experienced and/or talented options, you always go with the young guy, that's the rule of thumb in most every venture!


So I ask you with all things considered, and I mean all things! Short and/or Long-Term?
Who was an absolutely guaranteed better selection than the Miami Dolphins choice of Adam Gase?

Thank-You for an open minded read, and we look forward to your angle of view : )) !!

GOFINS!!!



PS. By Miami taking control of the wheel with that first abrupt turn. They were also able to gather practically an entire defensive coaching staff whom also are of relative youth, (without aggressively competitive road raging traffic in their mirrors) prior to the other head coach-less teams deciding upon their main man. The Dolphins are supposedly waiting for some of the playoff teams seasons to end before assembling their offensive staff and whatever else remains. Those along with the already signed, sealed, and delivered will be discussed when the process is complete, and/or in the comments section.

Bill Lazor's Miami Dolphin Offense is All About Tempo

The mentality Bill Lazor brings from Philadelphia is what head coach Joe Philbin hopes will make the Miami Dolphin offense blossom.

Nepotism runs deep in NFL circles where a constant churning of coaches and coordinators turns the scolded dog coach of today into a coordinator somewhere else tomorrow. In the eyes of coaches that spend a lifetime watching film, there simply is not much difference from one scheme to the next in the National Football League.

It is easy to understand why rookie coach Joe Philbin turned to the good old boy network and hired Mike Sherman to run his offense. As a former professional and collegiate head coach, Sherman had experience on many levels. Even though he failed in both Green Bay and Texas A&M, the decision to hire him as a coordinator was not a bad one. Why enter the treacherous waters of the NFL alone when your mentor is available and willing to help navigate.

The problem is the NFL has two distinct sides, one at practice and one on game-day. The practice side is where knowledge gained from years of experience teaches and nurtures. Practice repetition enables learning and is vital as the game compounds in intricacy over years of development from grade school to the pros. Practice methodology slows down the process of learning and instills fundamentals.

Game-day affords no such luxury. The heat of the game is a quick twitch affair where decisions must come at lightning speed. Any glitch in processing, like forgetting the running game or forcing the passing game is quickly detected by defensive coaches who instantly exploit the tendency.

When the offense sputters fans are left exasperated, screaming for the quarterback to pick up the pace or check down, but many times the hesitation does not come from the field. It is high up in the coaches’ box where fumbling and bumbling occurs unknown to fans cheering in the stadium or glued to the TV at home.

Philbin knew… His headset told a story fans will never know and the reality must have troubled him deeply.

His mentor was no longer up to speed with game-day.

The presumption Boss Ross made the decision to retire Mike Sherman because Philbin was incapable of firing his mentor is incorrect. From the outside, it is only possible to speculate what goes on inside Dolphin headquarters, yet the hiring of Bill Lazor hints at Joe Philbin’s thought process.

Philbin is a film junky. A film junky who was connected to the headset on game-day. The stammering in his ears matched the stammering on film and he knew what he must do. It’s a cruel world when staying on a career path means ending the career of someone close to you. Sherman made it easier on Philbin because he knew he had lost a step. The film does not lie and Sherman could not hide from the tape.

Philbin made an interesting move when he chose Bill Lazor as his offensive coordinator. He broke from the path of least resistance and did not hire a retread.

Hiring a veteran NFL coach is the easiest thing for a film junky to do, why? It’s on film, Philbin has data on film telling him what to expect from every veteran coach. There is no film on Lazor, no comfort zone of what to expect, only the gut hunch that this coach has something special setting him apart from all those that have failed before him.

The pace of the game is what was nagging Philbin... Sputtering and stuttering is not attacking. Hesitation is a symptom of reaction not pro-action and by hesitating, the flow of the game was dictated to Miami.

It’s not passing or running or an even split that makes one offense better than the next, those differences come from the best use of available talent and match-ups. A good offense attacks and dictates the flow by using every means available in rapid succession.

Chip Kelly is not utilizing some crazy scheme. As previously noted, there is not much variation between schemes in the NFL. Chip Kelly is simply attacking. An up-tempo force dictating game speed, keeping the defense in reactive mode is the distinctive quality of a great offense. Joe Philbin knows this, he’s a film junky, and not one interview with Philbin goes by without the word "film" mentioned several times.

Lazor was not signed to copy Kelly’s offense; he was signed to copy Kelly’s approach to offense. Joe Philbin recognized what he heard in the headphones and what he saw on tape, an offense constantly falling behind the tempo of the defense. He knows what he wants and it shows in the way the Dolphins practice in rapid-fire two-groups-at-once sessions, but his OC and consequently his QB could not keep up on game-day.

It’s hard to determine even after two seasons whether Ryan Tannehill is actually any good or not. The image of him waiting for plays while confusion reigned in the coaches’ box was clear when watching most Miami games. The extenuating circumstances brought about by Jonathan Martin only helped to hide the reality and is the perfect excuse for accepting sluggish play. Philbin could have successfully parleyed a justification for his friend and mentor using the bully excuse, but in the end, he chose to let him go.

His mentor was no longer up to speed with game-day.

Like many people, coaches often misplace personal loyalty with the realities of being a professional. There must be a distinct line between work and personal life because blurring that line leads to decisions that are not in the best interest of either. Nepotism in the form of a constantly revolving coaching procession stems from living to work, instead of working to live.

The easiest thing for Joe Philbin to do would have been to bring in a member of his coaching fraternity.

He didn't because he understood that tempo on game-day is the key to great offenses and the best coaches he knows are still employed. That restriction turned him toward a younger coach raised on the high speed mantra. While the offense is still a reflection of greatness or ineptitude at the quarterback position, at least that observation will no longer be obstructed by stutters and stammers in the coaches’ box.

Mike Sherman was a good man and an excellent coach unfortunately, he was no longer up to speed with game-day.

Welcome to Miami Bill Lazor! No worries about how many running plays or how many passing plays, those stats are for talking heads. Being offensive is about attacking weaknesses in rapid succession.

The tape won't lie about a Miami dolphin team attacking on offense. It will reflect quite clearly in the win column. The question is...

Is Bill Lazor up to speed with game-day?