Dolphins Team Headlines: Adam Gase Enters 2016 NFL Coach Of The Year Discussion
By Abe Gutierrez
The Miami Dolphins are winners of six straight ballgames—the second longest win streak of the 2016 season behind the Dallas Cowboys, making them one of the hottest teams in the National Football League. Thus, their first-year head coach Adam Gase has gone from merely an unknown to entering the conversation for 2016 NFL Coach Of The Year honors, this according to NFL Week 13 betting odds.
The youngest head coach in the league has not only managed to turn his team's season around following a 1-4 start, but the Fins have also put themselves in a position to control their destiny in the playoff chase. If the playoffs started today (Week 13), Miami would sneak into the postseason as the AFC's sixth seed at 7-4-0 and would, coincidentally, battle their Week 13 opponents, the (6-5-0) Baltimore Ravens.
In essence, Sunday's game between the Dolphins and Ravens could easily be a preview of what's to come, which magnifies the significance of this matchup. However, those types of conversations wouldn't be possible without the tremendous coaching job Gase has done.
Prior to the start of the 2016 campaign, NFL oddsmakers gave the 38-year-old from Ypsilanti, Michigan +4500 odds of winning the 2016 NFL Coach Of The Year award, which were among the worst. With five weeks remaining in the regular season, Gase has catapulted himself into the conversation to earn the ninth-best odds at +2500.
With so many feel-good storylines going on this season, there's no question the Michigan State product has an uphill battle to climb in terms of pulling off what would be a monumental upset. After all, the Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of the greatest win streak in franchise history, while the Oakland Raiders are incredibly tied for the top seed in the AFC with the New England Patriots.
Nevertheless, anything can happen with a handful of games left to play in this crazy, unpredictable sport's season. In fact, if any of the teams were to stumble in the late going, and Miami is able to stay the course, no one should be surprised if Gase sneaks in and steals the hardware at the 11th hour.
After all, what Gase has accomplished in Miami in such a small amount of time is nothing short of groundbreaking. It's true that the Fins haven't had a winning season since going 11-5 in 2008. It's also a fact that this franchise hasn't had a successful head coach since Don Shula and Jimmy Johnson.
Having said that, the biggest and most significant change Gase has brought to this organization and city has been a change in culture. That fact alone makes Gase a legitimate contender to win the 2016 NFL Coach Of The Year, especially considering the revolving door of head coaches that have tried—and miserably failed—since the turn of the millennium.
2016 NFL Coach Of The Year Betting Odds (As of NFL Week 13)
- Jason Garrett (Dallas Cowboys): +150
- Jack Del Rio (Oakland Raiders): +275
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): +400
- Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons): +1600
- Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): +1600
- Jim Caldwell (Detroit Lions): +1600
- Ben McAdoo (New York Giants): +1600
- Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): +2000
- Adam Gase (Miami Dolphins): +2500
- Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings): +3300
- Gary Kubiak (Denver Broncos): +5000
- Jay Gruden (Washington Redskins): +5000
- Field: +500
