Dolphins Reportedly Fired OC Chad O'Shea Because of Complex Playbook

Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chad O'Shea was fired after just one year on the job, which seemed odd considering he was working with a young team primed for development.

Now there's finally a reason for the move: The playbook was too complex. 

According to Barry Jackson, Adam Beasley and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, O'Shea was unable to teach his offense to Miami's players, with one Dolphin calling the coach's tenure a "s--tshow." 

In replacing O'Shea, the Dolphins hired 68-year-old Chan Gailey, who previously spent time with the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. This marks Gailey's second stint with Miami after serving as offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2001. 

The longtime coach should be able to make immediate advances in one area where O'Shea reportedly struggled—the film room. 

According to the Herald story, the former New England Patriots wideout coach went too big, too fast with trying to install different schemes and terminologies:

"The Patriots offense is considered complex, but a player said O’Shea made the situation worse by trying to install especially complicated, advanced elements of the Patriots offense that Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels used.

"Those plays and terminology might be second nature to Brady in years 17, 18 and 19 of his career there but would confuse young Dolphins who were learning the Dolphins offense for the first time.

"O’Shea would go to Flores and say a player didn’t know the playbook, but some of the players felt O’Shea wasn’t doing a good job teaching it."

O'Shea is the latest of many New England coaches to find life is much different outside Foxborough. A number of head coach Bill Belichick's disciples have failed after getting poached from the Patriots, including Eric Mangini, Josh McDaniels, Jim Schwartz and Romeo Crennel.  

Even before the Dolphins landed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, it was clear the team needed an OC who could teach a young team how to establish an offense in the AFC East. 

To do so, Miami is going out with the new, in the with old.