Clean House — Front Office

In my mind, the biggest thing the Miami Dolphins need to do to be successful in 2019 is a complete organizational shift. From the top down. Coaching staff included. Some of you might say “Didn’t the Dolphins just do that?” Yes, and no. The Dolphins have had several half-hearted attempts at altering the coaching staff. Nothing has worked. It’s time to blow it up from the top down.

Now, as I say that, I also recognize that it’s not going to involve head coach Adam Gase. Like it or not, Gase has done enough with a bad team to earn another season. However, no one else on the staff or in the front office, save for GM Chris Grier, should be safe.

For the most part, Grier has shown a good eye for talent evaluation as the main source for the Miami Dolphins scouting department. It’s what got him the job as the Dolphins GM in the first place. However, Grier’s evaluations and advice haven’t always been heard. That has put the team in tough spots. This needs to change. And that change needs to come in the form of Mike Tannenbaum’s departure, and Adam Gase giving up some player personnel control. Grier knows what he’s doing, give him the keys.

Clean House — Coaching Staff

Getting rid of one person isn’t much of a “cleaning house”. Tannenbaum takes a lot of blame for the issues with this team, and rightfully so, but he’s not the only one. It’s the coaching staff’s job to ensure they prepare players for game day. It’s also their job to put their players in a position to succeed. The 2018 Miami Dolphins coaching staff has failed miserably at both things this season. And again, it starts at the top.

I believe, at least for now, Adam Gase’s job is safe for another year. For all the bad that has come with Gase — and there has been a lot — it’s hard to argue with some of the numbers he’s achieved. The tandem of Gase and quarterback Ryan Tannehill still have a good record. The Dolphins have lost only one game at home this season. The team is dynamite in one-score games. All of that is a credit to Gase.

However, Gase’s play calling has come under fire repeatedly this season. In key situations, Gase has made head-scratching decisions again and again. I believe it’s high time that Gase relinquish some control and responsibility with this club and focus on what he does well. He’s a good coach. Let him do that, and only that. What that looks like is bringing in someone who isn’t one of “Gase’s guys” to take over play calling duty as the full-time offensive coordinator.

It also means saying goodbye to defensive coordinator Matt Burke. This is a move long overdue, and out of everything that is going to appear in the column, this is the move I feel most confident will happen. Burke and his system simply have not worked in Miami. On the contrary, it’s been a disaster. Not all of it is Burke’s fault. Injuries have played their part here as well. But enough has fallen on Burke’s shoulders over the last two years to warrant a change.