But after six straight wins have put them squarely in the AFC playoff race, Tannehill and the Dolphins are suddenly relevant again, and all signs point to first-year coach Adam Gase. The NFL’s youngest coach at 38 was known to be something of a quarterback whisperer before he got to Miami, and now he’s doing it again: Over Miami’s six-game winning streak, Tannehill has thrown for nine touchdowns and just one interception while compiling a cumulative passer rating of 104.7.

There were skeptics, obviously. One of them was Luther Campbell, the rap impresario who has become something of a South Florida sports ombudsman in his middle age, his Twitter feed filled with thoughts on what the local teams should be doing. What Snoop Dogg is to Southern California sports, Campbell is to Miami.

NFL Media’s Jeffri Chadiha relates this anecdote in a column published Tuesday:

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Hell, Gase has even won over Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, a former rapper and South Florida legend who once complained to a couple friends in a local bar back in January that Gase would fail largely because of Tannehill. When a gentleman sitting nearby that night said Tannehill would get better — and the Dolphins would, as well — Campbell argued heatedly with the guy until he realized it was Gase having fun at his expense.

Campbell apparently still is on board.

Gase has done this before. As the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator last season, he guided Jay Cutler to a career-high 92.3 passer rating. Before that, in Denver, he earned the respect of Peyton Manning in the last years of his career and was the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2011, a.k.a. Tim Tebow’s one shining moment in the NFL. Few are surprised he’s doing it again in Miami, even if doubts remained after the team’s 1-4 start (abetted, in part, by a banged-up offensive line that couldn’t keep Tannehill upright).