The Miami Dolphins have some major personnel decisions to make for 2016, as players like Lamar Miller, Rishard Matthews and Olivier Vernon are all heading towards free agency. The team just hired Adam Gase to take over as head coach and the Dolphins are hoping he can turn things around for quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
The Dolphins announced the hiring of Adam Gase over the weekend and now he will take over after Joe Philbin was fired during the season. Dan Campbell was the interim head coach and while he got a chance to keep the job, Miami was always looking to bring in someone new to take over. According to Pro Football Talk, the Browns, Eagles and Giants were all interested in Gase, which is why Miami moved quickly to bring him in as head coach.
Gase is considered by many in NFL circles to be a "quarterback guru" and that likely was one of the main reasons why he was brought in to take over in Miami. Tannehill had a career season in 2014, but he took a bit of a step back in 2015 and the team is hoping that Gase can get the quarterback back on track. Tannehill had some strong moments, but overall he was inconsistent and the team is looking for some positive development moving forward.
Gase reportedly will call the offensive plays for Miami this season and that could be a big factor in helping to turn things around with Tannehill. Gase was offensive coordinator with the Broncos for a couple years while Peyton manning was putting up big numbers and Gase helped Jay Cutler turn things around in Chicago last season while working under John Fox. Gase said that "really enjoys" the aspect of play calling and is looking forward to keeping those duties as he takes over as head coach.s/
Tannehill signed a contract extension last year and the team wants him to be the franchise quarterback and Gase should be able to help him get to where he needs to be for this season. Tannehill had more passing yards this season than last year, but his completion percentage and TD passes decreased. Tannehill had over 4000 yards and a career best 27 touchdowns in 2014 while completing a career high 66 percent of his passes.
The team has some decisions to make in free agency, as Miller, Matthews and Olivier Vernon are hitting the market. Omar Kelly at the Sun Sentinel writes that Greg Jennings could be an option to get released after having a down season in 2015. The team likely will try and keep Miller on a new contract, but if he ends up leaving, the Dolphins have Jay Ajayi ready to take over after being drafted last year. Vernon should be an option to return as well, but if he asks for Cameron Wake money, the Dolphins could let him walk.