One Final Tidbit...

The Dolphins finished 31st in offense — the lowest ranking in franchise history — and 29th in defense.

Miami averaged the 26th most points on offense and gave up the 27th most on defense.

They ended up being outgained by 1619 yards and outscored by 114 points, totals that would suggest this was closer to a four-win team than the 7-9 record would indicate.

...

The Dolphins’ 31 sacks were fourth fewest in the league. Miami allowed 52 sacks, tied for fifth most.

The Dolphins’ receiver leader, Danny Amendola, had 575 receiving yards. In a pass-heavy league, Miami averaged just 207 passing yards per game and didn’t have a receiver with 600 yards in receptions.

The coach felt empowered by that ‘16 success that included a playoff berth -- albeit a one-and-done appearance.

And the owner fed into the Gase power trip because he had given the 40-year-old first-time coach the power to tear down and rebuild the roster if he wanted and done so in writing in his contract.

Gase, no doubt feeding off the early success, sometimes joked about being able to blow up the entire organization if he wanted.

But because he had so much power and no one to tell him “no,” he made mistakes.

After the 2016 season when the Dolphins needed a serious upgrade to their defense, Gase decided he could make the offense operate on the cheap while the defense added players. So the coach practically ignored the need for guards.

And Ross challenged him about that.

And Gase yelled at the owner about knowing more about football than he did. Multiple sources say a high-ranking club official had to intervene and tell Gase he could not speak to the owner -- his boss -- that way.

JMP wrote:I really think Gase has mental issues.  If nothing else, he certainly has delusions of grandeur - which can be a symptom of serious psychological issues.

Degarmo wrote:Well, in my opinion, he clearly displays signs of being in the autism spectrum, which can have some pretty odd personality quirks in and of itself, but I'm just assuming.  He may just be an arrogant asshole.

white1 wrote:Well Ross isn’t exactly milk toast. He fired Gase.

Tannenbaum, with the team since 2015, asked for and received something of a quiet sendoff, according to a Dolphins source. He will not be working for the team again. By the time the draft comes in April, it will be obvious he is no longer with the organization, the source said.