Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Gailey requires QBs to have good legs too
Football is evolving into a sandlot sport and becoming a wide-open game, one where the quarterback’s legs are becoming just as important as his arm.
At least that’s the direction college football seems to be heading, and the NFL appears to be following suit.
The Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson era is upon us, and the Miami Dolphins seemingly want a seat on this train. This week at the NFL combine the team’s top decision-makers admitted that finding an athletic quarterback is high on the team’s to-do list this offseason.
“I think at any level you’ve got to have mobility — pee wee, college, high school,” head coach Brian Flores said. “You’ve got to be able to step up in the pocket or slide in the pocket or, if you get a free runner [as a rusher], try to avoid that guy.
“I think mobility at that position, at any level, is a good thing. I would say just from a talent standpoint, yeah, that’s something we’re looking at.” Or better yet, looking for. According to multiple league insiders, new Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey wants a quarterback with mobility, someone who can elude pressure, extend the play with his legs and throw on the run.
Gailey, who served as Dave Wannstedt’s offensive coordinator in Miami for two seasons, leading the Dolphins to back-to-back 11-5 seasons, is said to be enamored with passers who possess athleticism, which would likely put Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa (if his hip injury allows him to regain his athleticism), Utah State’s Jordan Love, and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts on his short list of likely NFL quarterback targets in the 2020 draft.
According to general manager Chris Grier, Gailey will have influence on the quarterback Miami builds the franchise around for the future.
“I worked with Chan previously,” said Grier, who has been part of the Dolphins front office for 20 years. “Chan was a little bit ahead in the RPO [run/pass option offensive] game early on, before it became, I guess, ‘in style’ for the league.”
Gailey implemented RPO and spread concepts during his three-season run as the Buffalo Bills coach from 2010-12.
According to Flores, Gailey was the coach he targeted to replace a fired Chad O’Shea because he values his ability to teach, and his offenses were a challenge to coach against because of all the counters his playbook provided, keeping defensive coordinators on their toes.
“Humble, creative, innovative,” one contemporary who worked with Gailey said this week in describing the 68-year-old.
“He might be old, but he’s not old-school. Chan has been a trendsetter in this game, and he’s probably looked at the direction the NFL has gone since retiring and felt like he could take it to the next level.”
The Dolphins seem committed to Ryan Fitzpatrick as the team’s starting quarterback in 2020, unless he’s beaten out by a youngster. So it’s a good thing Gailey and Fitzpatrick, who led the Dolphins in rushing last season, have a close working relationship.
“I know Fitz loves him,” Dolphins quarterback Jake Rudock said earlier this month when asked about Gailey. “That’s good enough for me.”
Gailey and Fitzpatrick spent five seasons together, first with the Bills from when Gailey was head coach, and then with the New York Jets in 2015-16 when Gailey was offensive coordinator. Fitzpatrick started 72 games in those five seasons. His career highs of 3,905 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes came in that 2015 season with the Jets.
Last season, Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins with 243 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 54 carries. While all that running from Fitzpatrick wasn’t ideal, especially for a quarterback who turned 38 last November, many of those runs sparked the offense or led to scoring drives.
“I think the mobility gives you a dimension that defenses have to account for with spreading everything out. It is an advantage [for] the guys that can do it,” Grier said. “But also on the other hand, if the guy – [a player] like Drew Brees is a great thrower, passer and not known for mobility and I think everyone would take that as well. But it does add a dimension that makes defenses account for them.
“It seems to be a lot of these guys now add that dimension which is exciting for the future of football.”