Maybe Adam Gase simply wasn't emotionally intelligent enough. Or maybe he didn't perfectly exemplify what it means to be a "Philly guy." Either way, it seems Gase, the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator and one of the hot names in the current NFL head coaching carousel, and the Philadelphia Eagles likely won't be joining forces this offseason. According to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News, Gase will "continue his NFL interview tour" after visiting with the Eagles on Tuesday.
Adam Gase will continue his NFL interview tour after visit with the #Eagles, I am told.
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) January 5, 2016
When NFL teams find their "guy," they usually act quickly. So Gase moving on to his next front office date either means he's going to do his due diligence and check out everything that's potentially out there to be had despite ardent interest from Philly, or the Eagles and owner Jeffrey Lurie, executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman and team president Don Smolenski simply weren't smitten with the up-and-coming Gase.
Gase made his bones in recent seasons as something of a quarterback whisperer. He spent five years with the Detroit Lions, one with the San Francisco 49ers and six with the Denver Broncos, where he helped Peyton Manning to the best statistical season of his storied career, before landing with the Bears this past offseason after just missing the cut on head coaching gigs.
Gase did great work with much-maligned Bears quarterback Jay Cutler this season, though the Bears offense still ranked just 20th in the league in points per game. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to land him the top spot in Philly.
For the Eagles, the next step isn't really clear. They've now interviewed Gase, as well as in-house candidates Pat Shurmur and Duce Staley. They're reportedly interested in Saints head coach Sean Payton and will be interviewing Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin at some point.
They were said to be interested in Doug Pederson and Doug Marrone, but subsequent reports suggested the Doug's really weren't all that high on their list.
