It's not odd for a guy to get a job based on relationships or recommendations. Even pro team sports, which are literally defined by numbers, are influenced by more than spreadsheets or stat geeks. Over the last year, we saw a number of NFL coaches hired based on their proximity to wunderkind coach Sean McVay.
And before that, we saw Adam Gase get the Dolphins gig based on his bond with Peyton Manning. Gase was the Broncos' offensive coordinator when Manning took an eraser to the record books. So a call from the most popular member of pro football's first family will go a long way to getting Gase a head coaching gig.
What's a bit more curious, however, is what's happened since. Gase pushed through a 23-25 record as head man in Miami and was canned after three seasons. Hailed as a QB guru, Gase did not seem to get the best out of Ryan Tannehill, going 13-11 together. In 11 starts last year, Tannehill went 5-6, tossed 17 touchdowns, completed 64.2 percent of his passes, averaged 7.2 yards gained per pass attempt and posted a 92.7 passer rating.
Maybe Tannehill just wasn't that good and no number of coaches could squeeze the production out of a QB who already hit his ceiling. Except this season, Tannehill has been one of the league's comeback players of the year. Now in Tennessee, playing in place of the benched Marcus Mariota, Tannehill has been blazing hot.
In eight starts with the Titans, Tannehill has posted a 6-2 record, and has already thrown 17 touchdowns in three fewer games. He's completing 71.5% of his passes, averages an NFL-best 9.5 yards gained per pass attempt and 114.6 passer rating - all career highs. Tannehill has found his groove under Mike Vrabel, a former linebacker who made his coaching bones on defense.
Still, Gase can't be condemned based just on one job. A gaggle of great coaches didn't win Super Bowls until their second stops on the NFL map. Don Shula, Pete Carroll, Dick Vermeil and Bill Belichick bagged Super Bowl titles with their second teams, all of them (except Vermeil) fired from their first jobs.
But what we must see is tangible improvement from Gase, which means exponential growth from his top student, Sam Darnold. The Jets were supposed to contend for a playoff spot this season, yet were all but eliminated in October. Some of that can be blamed on Darnold's untimely case of mononucleosis. Some of it can be blamed on injuries, which have clearly plagued the Jets this season. After their loss to Cincinnati, the Jets led the NFL with 15 players on injured reserve, according to overthecap.com.
But Darnold is not flowering into the franchise quarterback most thought he would become. He's 19th in the NFL in average passing yards per game, 19th in yards per attempt, 22nd in completion percentage and is 24th in passer rating - one-tenth of a point ahead of Mitchell Trubisky. Yet Darnold is tied for 7th in interceptions (12) despite starting three fewer games than most of his peers.
Then we saw the mild-mannered Darnold barking at Gase after a failed drive last week in Baltimore. Though Darnold has long been a supporter of his head coach, he's been more muted on the matter as of late and is clearly frustrated with the team's lack of production on offense.
We can't blame Gase for everything, especially in his maiden season as head coach. Mono sacked Darnold before the season could. Gase can't control the laughable list of injured players. But his future is surely tethered to Darnold's progress.
So while it would be unfair to fire Gase after a single season, you can be sure Gase will be coaching for his job in 2020. His first job is to fix his friendship with his new QB and quietly hope his old QB doesn't take the Titans - which, ironically, is the original name of the Jets - deep into the playoffs.
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