Without much fanfare Adam Gase turned 40 a few weeks ago, and the symbolism and reality of that are the same. He is no longer the young wunderkind who introduced himself as an NFL head coach by going 10-6 and ending an eight-year playoff drought. Two years later, he's the guy coming off a 6-10 season, socked by low expectations and trying to rekindle himself as a stock worth investing in.
Year 3 bearing down on him is Gase's most important, because it could be his last. And if that sounds overly dramatic, the idea he could be coaching for his Dolphins future, you don't know the NFL, or the urgency of a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game in 18 years — or Gase's own risky gamble on his gut instinct over traditional thinking.