ADAM GASE
Most people consider Gase to be the top candidate among assistant coaches. Simply put, he has had a knack for getting QBs to play well and that is invaluable in todays NFL.
Im fascinated by Gase because he reminds me of an offensive version of Bill Belichick. Gase went to Michigan State, not to play football, but just as a normal student. He got coach Nick Saban to let him do some work for the football team. When Saban left for LSU, the only person he took with him was
Gase.
Gase wasnt making much money at all. He was feeling financial and family pressure to move on from football and get a real job. He almost did, but stuck it out and eventually got a scouting job with the Lions (and Steve Mariucci). That led to a low-level assistant job with the Lions and eventually he was the QBs coach in 2007 working under OC Mike Martz. Martz left for SF in 2008 and took Gase with him.
Gase then coached WRs for Denver in 2009 and 2010. He became the QBs coach there in 2011 and 2012 and was promoted to OC in 2013 and 2014. When John Fox was fired after the season, he took Gase to Chicago with him to be the OC for the Bears.
That history is important for a few reasons.
First, Gase is a self-made man. He wasnt a college football player. He wasnt an NFL player. He showed great work ethic at the lowest rungs of the football ladder and carved out a niche for himself.
Another key, people who worked with Gase kept taking him to new teams. It says something pretty good when Nick Saban, Mike Martz and John Fox all like you enough to want you to follow them to new gigs. Those are three very different coaches. They arent close friends so this wasnt a case of them looking out for a mutual acquaintance. Each coach was impressed by Gase after working with him.
Results are also critical. Jon Kitna had a solid season playing for Gase in 2007. Brandon Marshall posted big numbers in 2009. Eddie Royal and Jabar Gaffney played well for Gase. Brandon Lloyd had the best season of his career playing for Gase in 2010.
Tim Tebow went 7-4 playing for Gase in 2011 and even won a playoff game. Peyton Manning had his bounce-back season under Gase in 2012 and then posted the greatest season in the history of NFL QBing in 2013, throwing 55 TD passes. Jay Cutler is going to finish with the highest QB rating of his career. He did throw 3 INTs in the season finale, but greatly cut down on critical mistakes this year.
My favorite quality with Gase is versatility. He worked under Mariucci (West Coast Offense), Mike Martz (Coryell/Gillman offense) and embraced Mannings playbook (Tom Moore offense). Gase was able to have success dealing with all of those systems.
When Tebow took over as QB, Gase got as creative as he could. He consulted college coaches for ideas. He talked to Demaryius Thomas, who had played in a triple option offense at Georgia Tech, for ideas. Gase was as user-friendly with Cutler as he could be. Gase figured out what Cutler had done well in the past and built the offense around that.
When dealing with Manning, Gase didnt try to make life difficult. He embraced the no-huddle, shotgun attack. He learned Mannings playbook and made that the core of the offense. Gase knew he was handed an incredible gift and he handled the situation in the smartest way possible.
Gase understands that football is more players than scheme.
Players seem to like Gase. He hasnt had to lead a whole team yet, but has had good success with the units hes run. Brandon Lloyd told a story years ago about screaming and cussing at Gase during a game when the coaches werent using him the way he wanted. Gase didnt get confrontational. He kept things calm and defused the situation.
There are two big questions with Gase. First, can he lead a team? That is always a concern when you hire a coordinator to be head coach. Leading 5, 10, or even 25 men is different from leading an entire organization. I know Gase is smart enough to handle the job. I just dont know if hes a natural leader. Because he rates so well in all the other categories, Id be willing to take a chance on him.
The other concern is whether Gase will want the Eagles job. If hes the top guy, he will have his choice of jobs. The Eagles are getting the first crack at him so that bodes well. He wouldnt interview if he had no interest. I just dont know where the Eagles might fall on his list.
I like Gase quite a bit and think he could be a terrific hire.
TERYL AUSTIN
I havent had a chance to do as much studying on Austin.
For the past two seasons, he was the DC for the Lions. They were 2nd in the NFL in defense in 2014 before falling to the middle of the pack this year. Amazing what happens when you lose Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley in one offseason.
Austin coached DBs for the Ravens from 2011 to 2013. He was the DC at Florida for one season. Prior to that, Austin coached DBs for the Cardinals (2007-2009) and the Seahawks (2003-2006). He worked his way through college football as an assistant before coming to the NFL.
Austin has a strong reputation as a leader and communicator. He speaks well and has the presence of a head coach. Some assistants struggle with that.
Like Gase, Austin has worked for a lot of good football coaches. He was under Mike Holmgren in Seattle and John Harbaugh in Baltimore. Im sure a strong recommendation from Harbaugh would go a long way with Jeff Lurie.
Austins worked with some good DCs as well. Ray Rhodes, John Marshall, Clancy Pendergast, Chuck Pagano and Dean Pees arent all big names, but those are some outstanding coaches. Austin has been exposed to a lot of different schemes and systems. Austin has run a 4-3 with the Lions, but he doesnt believe in being static. He likes to blitz and mix things up. If he were head coach, you might actually see the 4-3 Under that we all expected from Bill Davis when he was hired.
The biggest attraction to Austin would likely be the fact hes got such DB expertise. The Eagles havent had a strong secondary in a while. There are some promising young DBs in place and it is critical the team develops them into solid starters, if not even better than that.
It would be interesting to have a defensive head coach. That hasnt happened since Ray Rhodes was here from 1995 to 1998.
BEN McADOO
Another young coach with a strong offensive background and good track record. As with Austin, I need to do more research on him.
Like Gase, McAdoo is a grinder. He started coaching at the high school level before becoming an graduate assistant at Michigan State (what is it about MSU?). A couple of years later he became a GA at Pitt, where he worked for Walt Harris (good offensive coach).
During that time in his life, McAdoo had met a coach by the name of Mike McCarthy. They were both natives of western PA and developed a friendship. McCarthy was impressed enough by McAdoo to hire him to come work for the Saints in 2004. McAdoo then followed McCarthy to SF in 2005 and onto Green Bay in 2006. They worked together there through 2013.
McAdoo coached TEs from 2006 until 2011. He then coached QBs in 2012 and 2013.
In 2014, McAdoo was hired away to be the Giants OC.
The biggest selling point for me in regard to McAdoo is his work with Eli Manning. We all know the saying that you cant teach old dogs new tricks. McAdoo got Eli to completely change his game. Eli just set personal records for TD passes and QB rating this season.
In the past, Eli liked to throw vertically. That meant holding onto the ball. McAdoo got him to embrace quick throws. Instead of 7-step drops and 20-yard throws there were 3- and 5-step drops and quick hitters. This eliminated some negative plays and helped the offense to be very efficient at times. Think about it. Eli had a banged up O-line and serious receiver issues, but still set personal passing records. Thats pretty impressive, by him and McAdoo.
Things worked out pretty well in Philly the last time the Eagles hired someone who had coached the Packers TEs and QBs. That was Andy Reid. McAdoo had the added benefit of leaving the nest and going to NY to work under Tom Coughlin and see another organization up close and personal. Reid never got to be an OC. Im sure McAdoo learned quite a bit in his time away from the Packers.
McAdoo would be of interest because he has gotten good results from a pair of QBs. He knows the NFC East. He understands coaching in a bit city and the pressure of being in the spotlight. He knows how to run someone elses system (McCarthys) and also how to create his own.
The Giants may make a strong push to keep McAdoo themselves.
PAT SHURMUR
Im not going to write a lot about Shurmur.
The biggest selling point is that hes close with Sam Bradford and keeping Shurmur around might help to bring Bradford back. Shurmur was not a good coach in Cleveland, but he says he would do a lot of things differently now and that Chip Kelly had a strong influence on him.
Shurmur did a good job of running the team in the season finale. He handled the week well and the players seemed to respond to him.
I would not make him a priority target, but if things dont work out with others, there is something to be said for giving him a chance. Obviously he would need a strong interview to get the job.
I would love to bring Shurmur back as part of the staff. I just dont see him as a compelling head coach.
