As the Dolphins turn the page, finally, on the Joe Philbin era by hiring Adam Gase to coach the team, there’s one last nugget to note before Philbin fades completely into the dustbin of Dolphins’ history.
In 2014, only two years after the team made quarterback Ryan Tannehill a top-10 pick, Philbin wanted the team to use a first-round pick on quarterback Derek Carr.
The past two seasons arguably have vindicated Philbin; Carr has shown considerable promise early in his career as a second-round pick of the Raiders, and most would regard Carr as having a higher ceiling than Tannehill.
That could change with Gase, who has worked well with a variety of quarterbacks, from Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning to Jay Cutler. And with the front office fully committed to Tannehill (unless and until Gase decides he’s not the answer), look for the soon-to-be-fifth-year signal-caller to get a full and fair shot to reach his ceiling, whatever it may be, in 2016.