Rumor: Packers to Interview Adam Gase on Sunday
The Packers will interview former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Silverstein.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky added on, reporting the interview will take place on Sunday. The Packers are also planning to meet with Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur Sunday, too.
Gase began his coaching career in the college ranks with Nick Saban, and was the Lions quarterbacks coach under Mike Martz in 2007. He followed Martz to San Francisco in 2008, and then was hired by Josh McDaniels as the wide receivers coach in Denver.
The Broncos fired McDaniels midway through 2010, but new head coach John Fox kept Gase on under new offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.
Gase has played a key role for some of the league’s most influential players during their most memorable season:
He was Tim Tebow’s quarterbacks coach during his magical 2011 ‘Tebowmania’ stretch.
He was the wide receivers coach who helped ho-hum receiver Brandon Lloyd make the All-Pro team in 2010.
He was Peyton Manning’s initial quarterbacks coach in 2012, and was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2013. In 2013, Manning threw for an NFL-record 55 touchdown passes.
He was the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2015 when Jay Cutler threw a career-low in interceptions and a career-high in passer rating.
As a head coach, though, Gase was underwhelming. The Dolphins were 23-26 with Gase at the helm, making the postseason in his first season but losing in the Wild Card to the Steelers.
What this means for the Packers head coaching search
In several ways, Adam Gase is similar to Mike Munchak, both in terms of his background and in how he fits with the overall picture of Packers coaching candidates.
Gase, like Munchak, has been considered one of the best at what he does. While Munchak is a world-class offensive line coach, Gase was deeply involved in Peyton Manning’s best seasons in Denver. Together, Gase and Manning led the Broncos to two top-five offensive finishes. He also coaxed a respectable season out of Jay Cutler in 2015; the moody gunslinger posted a career-high passer rating of 92.3 with Gase as his offensive coordinator that year.
Also like Munchak, Gase’s individual successes didn’t translate into results as a head coach. Over the course of three seasons in Miami, Gase’s Dolphins went just 23-25. They made the playoffs on a 10-6 record in 2016 only to meekly exit after a 30-12 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Packers are clearly not terribly worried about a coach’s success to date. Of their interview candidates so far, only Jim Caldwell and Chuck Pagano have posted winning records in their last head coaching job. Josh McDaniels, Mike Munchak, and now Gase have all on the wrong side of .500 as head coaches. Gase is another sign that the Packers want to consider coaches on their merits (such as they are) and not just on one number.
Gase could also fit the profile of the Brian Flores-style interview we’ve mentioned before. Since the deciding factor in many coaching decisions is their staff, the Packers may be trying to give whomever their next coach ends up being a leg up in that process, feeling out how nominal head coaching candidates on their interest in serving on someone’s staff in Green Bay.
Though he has the experience needed to be a head coach, the Packers could also be interested in him as an offensive coordinator. That could be the ultimate purpose of their conversation with Gase.
