I’ll spare you my reasons why Jason Garrett, Jack Del Rio, or Bill Belichick shouldn’t be the NFL’s Coach of the Year.

But I will tell you why first-year head coach Adam Gase deserves it.

The Miami Dolphins franchise was in disarray.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was coming off his worst season in 2015. Questions at running back plagued the rush game. After Lamar Miller left for the Houston Texans, the team relied on beaten-up veteran Arian Foster and unproven Jay Ajayi.

The offensive line was also not helping. The unit allowed more sacks than any other group from 2012–2015.

At defense, star pass rusher Cameron Wake was coming off an achilles tear suffered in 2015, which negatively affected a front-seven who egregiously struggled against the run. To top it off, the cornerbacks were young and, frankly, not good.

Now, that is not to say Gase didn’t inherit any talent when he arrived in Miami. Veterans such as Branden Albert, Mike Pouncey, Wake, Ndamukong Suh, the receiver corp, and Reshad Jones provided a base for Gase to build on.

But, even so, the Dolphins had glaring holes coming into the 2016 season — making a winning season a pipe dream.

Palm Beach Post

These holes were evident through their first five games. The Dolphins racked up a 1–4 record, with their sole win coming at home against the Cleveland Browns — thanks to their kicker, who missed three field goals.

A common theme of mediocrity had plagued the franchise since Dan Marino retired. After an embarrassing loss to the Tennessee Titans in week 5, the Dolphins sat at 1–4. It was at this time the hiring of Gase began to be questioned by critics and fans.