I saw it first hand in Dallas. JJ came in and things changed and that was from a team coached by the legendary Tom Landry, but things were different. There were no more apologies and no more excuses. This was JJ's team and there was only 1 way it was going to be done and that was his way. If you didn't like it you can go play somewhere else. And the players understood it and even more surprising they liked it. See the thing is people think you can't do that with players, but actually this is what they want. They just want be treated the same regardless of how that is as long as it's consistent. The team is more important than you individually. Your personal little issues need to take a back seat to the team's needs. You're upset about not starting, well that won't be a problem for long because you won't be on the team too much longer because there are players out there maybe not as physically gifted as you that just want a chance to show what they can do that will happily take your spot and that's better for the team. Even if they are not as physically gifted, if they buy into the system, that's better.
I saw it first hand in Dallas with JJ and I'm seeing it again with these Dolphins and with Gase. I said it earlier in the year, before they even started winning. I said there was a difference you could see. A difference you could feel. The apologies were gone. The excuses were gone. Some said you can't throw players under the bus like that, but actually you can. Actually you HAVE to. You HAVE to make them accountable because if you do the players WILL adjust and they WILL get it. There might be a few casualties along the way, but sooner or later the others will see what it takes and they will get it. This is exciting to watch and I don't just mean for this year. I feel like the Dolphins have one of the brightest young head coaches in the league and that's really exciting.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article118718673.htmlhttp://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/ryan-tannehill-dolphins-winning-streak-improvement-adam-gase/1puo2kg0lqr8s16ps477wwpa57http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/12/02/culture-club-miami-dolphins-discover-bad-habits-arent-that-hard-to-break-after-all/Are you guys talking about Adam Gase or Joe Philbin? Because all of that stuff applied to Philbin, too.
Let me clarify what I mean, here. If these stories were about Gase having better schemes, or having the team better prepared for the game, or running more efficient practices, then I'd be all for it. But this kind of it's about accountability now talk rings extremely hollow when the hallmark of the previous coach was the kind of accountability he was enforcing.
He held Brandon Marshall accountable.
He held Vontae Davis accountable.
He (eventually) held Richie Incognito and John Jerry accountable.
He held Mike Wallace accountable.
In fact, the only thing Joe Philbin ever did was figure out ways to hold players accountable. So hearing the recent winning streak being attributed to accountability is really pretty troubling to me.
Tell me Gase is a wizard with Xs and Os.
Tell me he has a way of inspiring players to buy into his system.
But don't tell me that his strength is in disciplining players. That's the last thing I want to hear.
What incorporates both of your positions is the notion that both Jimmy Johnson and Adam Gase were
perceived by the players to have the utmost in support from the front office.
Johnson was a very successful college coach who'd just been paid a boatload of money by his personal friend (Jerry Jones) to coach the team, and Adam Gase was a highly sought-after head coaching candidate who was likewise paid a ton of money and given a five-year contract.
That establishes the head coach's authority with the players, and lets them know that poor play will result in consequences for the
players, and not the coach.
Notice that when Dallas Thomas, Billy Turner, and Jamil Douglas were cut -- by Gase -- the team immediately responded with a different comportment on the field.
Those personnel moves were the epitome of what I'm talking about above. They let the whole roster know that the head coach had the power to make such moves, and that the team's 1-4 start was going to be handled by consequences for the
players (not the coach!), coordinated by a head coach who had the support of the front office to do so.
Joe Philbin on the other hand was far less sought after league-wide as a head coach, and, in stark contrast to Gase and Jimmy Johnson, was the lowest-paid head coach in the league. Those aren't ringing endorsements, and they don't establish nearly the power base for the head coach's authority over the players.
Consequently the inmates were running the asylum under Philbin, and that has ended quickly under Gase.
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