This Week 17 Mistake Cost Chan Gailey His Job

The Miami Dolphins entered Week 17 of the regular season with a decent chance of making the NFL playoffs. Miami was forced to start rookie Tua Tagovailoa, who had been benched in favor of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, due to Fitz's positive COVID test. The rookie struggled, and the Buffalo Bills blew out the Dolphins, 56-26.

On Wednesday, offensive coordinator Chan Gailey resigned from his position. It turns out Gailey made a critical mistake in Week 17 that likely cost him his job.

It was clear that Tua Tagovailoa was most effective in '20 operating from empty sets. Heading into week 17, Tua was 34/41 for 288 yards and a touchdown.

But Miami ran just a 1 play from an empty set in week 17 until the team was losing 28-6. Only ran 4 more from that point, too.
— Matt Infante (@MattyInfante) January 5, 2021

Gailey clearly set Tagovailoa up for failure after not properly structuring the Dolphins' game plan around his strengths. With the rookie going through his first-year struggles at times, Gailey needed to put Tagovailoa in a position to succeed, rather than flounder.

Instead, Gailey failed to emphasize empty sets in Week 17, and Tagovailoa was unable to lead his team to a win. The offense didn't score a touchdown until the second half, when the game was already decided.

Gailey is a veteran offensive coordinator and head coach, but his return to the sideline in 2020 after last serving as an OC in 2016 didn't go as well as hoped. Now Miami head coach Brian Flores must find a new coordinator who can maximize the Dolphins' offense around Tagovailoa in his second season.

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