The Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator change this offseason came a little out of no where. The Dolphins were able to build momentum on offense with veteran passer Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm, but in the aftermath of former coordinator Chad O’Shea’s dismissal we’ve since learned that his teaching style didn’t necessarily go over well and connect with Miami’s young players. And in O’Shea’s place, the Dolphins went off the grid, pulling veteran coach Chan Gailey out of retirement to serve as Miami’s offensive play caller.
And, for the first time since taking the job in January, Gailey spoke with the South Florida media this afternoon. When asked about his return to coaching and why he felt compelled to take the job, Gailey referenced a renewed sense of excitement to a return to the sideline.
“Right at the end of the season, (Coach Flores) called and I was kind of taken aback a little bit; but then we talked about it as a family and we just – I had no idea,” said Gailey.
“I didn’t think so, but we just felt like we were being led to do this and so it was something we felt very strong and very excited and very comfortable with.”
With Gailey being away from the game, there has been some speculation about what Miami’s offense is going to look like. The anticipation from many is that we’ll see the Dolphins adopt plenty of ’11 personnel’ and try to space the field while drawing on Gailey’s college coaching experience to introduce run-pass option concepts to go along with a physical rushing attack. Gailey didn’t necessarily get into the meat and potatoes of his offense today, but he did shed some light on what he wants to accomplish as an offense.
“There’s two things. One thing, we try to stay balanced. I want to be a balanced offense. I want us to be able to run the football and throw the football effectively. That’s really big in the way I see offensive football,” said Gailey.
“And then the next thing is, to me, you adapt to the players that you have. You have to adjust your schemes and see who you have and that sometimes is even on a week-by-week basis and this year, that may be more important than ever, is to have a system in place that you can adjust to make the players that you have be successful. That’s what I’ve always tried to be about, is putting them in position to be successful.”
If Miami is going to adjust to their personnel, look for plenty of targets to DeVante Parker, Mike Gesicki and a healthy Preston Williams. One thing Gailey has always been good at is feeding his best players the ball. Whether it is Ryan Fitzpatrick or Tua Tagovailoa that is dispersing the football is still yet to be determined. But at the very least, we should expect Gailey to be playing with his best quarterback room in the last decade — which should help his offense accomplish their top priority: staying balanced.