Dolphins Owner Compares New Coach Adam Gase To Bill Belichick And Bill Parcells
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Comparing your new boss to old bosses is something everyone does - in their own mind, anyway. But you don't typically shoot straight for the best ever when describing a newcomer to the position, as Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross did with the team's new head coach Adam Gase, who at 37 years old is the youngest HC in franchise history.
Speaking to the Palm Beach Civic Association, Ross said he wants the Dolphins to bring in a great head coach who could be on par with the Belichicks of the world, and believes he may have found it with Gase, a first-time head coach. It was akin to Wyc Grousbeck bringing in Brad Stevens then immediately declaring him the next Phil Jackson.
Yeah, just another Belichick is fine. "I don't ask for much!"
Here's what Ross actually said, according to the Palm Beach Post: "Instead of getting a retread that really hasn't had a great track record as head coach, I was looking for somebody that really could be the next, if you will, Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, you know, really great head coach, and I think we got one."
Really, Mr. Ross? Just right to Belichick? Are you putting enough pressure on Coach Gase? Because if not I'd suggest going for Vince Lombardi or Paul Brown.
Practically in the same breath, Ross also insinuated that the next Belichick has three years to make the Dolphins a playoff team, or he's out. He's clearly speaking in generalities about life for head coaches in the NFL and not referring to Gase in particular, but it's hard to get past the implication.
"After three years, if we haven't made the playoffs, we're looking for a new coach," Ross said. "That's just the way it is. The fans want it."
Mr. Ross also doesn't seem to realize that Belichick got off to a rocky start in his head coaching career, too. When he first arrived with the Patriots, Belichick was essentially one of those "retreads" Ross mentioned - as a head coach, anyway. If Ross cuts Gase loose after three years, he'd better hope he ends up being wrong about that whole Belichick/Parcells comparison.
I hope Mr. Ross is right about Gase. It could do the Patriots some good to actually face resistance from within the division, instead of winning the AFC East blindfolded with one hand tied behind their backs almost every year.
It would also be great for the team and the league to have a coach who has not just the football acumen but the balls to go toe-to-toe with Belichick. Watching every other coach (besides a select few) look lost against the Patriots gets kind of old at some point. A coach who goes for it on fourth down a lot, doesn't settle for field goals, and does something close to what Wade Phillips did in the AFC Championship Game would make for some exciting games.
Whether or not Adam Gase is the next Belichick, he has a mountain of pressure to overcome. The expectations set for him now may be impossible to reach.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.