Earlier in the week, the Eagles seemed to have Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase at the top of their list for taking the head coaching job. He interviewed for the position on Tuesday and had impressed enough that the Eagles had reportedly offered a second interview over the weekend.
But on Thursday, it turns out that the report of a second interview was not true. That can officially be confirmed now.
Gase does have a second interview with the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, where he already interviewed on Thursday. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the interview is confirmed and that things are getting serious. According to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, there is buzz in the Dolphins organization that Gase could be hired by the end of the weekend.
The Eagles were indeed impressed with Gase, but the thinking was that they were going to finish the first round of interviews before going back for second interviews. Gase could be off the board by the time the Eagles get to that stage. They are set to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson on Sunday and have a request out to interview Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, which would have to wait until at least Sunday with both coaches fulfilling duties in the playoffs.
If the Eagles lose out on Gase, who was always high on their list, they would essentially have their pick of the other candidates already interviewed. Pederson, Pat Shurmur and Duce Staley would have only interviewed in Philadelphia, eliminating any competition there. Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, who interviewed on Thursday by the Eagles, has also interviewed with his current team, but has no real demand elsewhere. Guenther only has one other interview scheduled with Cleveland on Sunday.
Gase was clearly the hot commodity, getting interviews in Miami, Philadelphia, Cleveland and New York.
As many have noted, two factors that could go against the Eagles in what appears to be a bidding war with Miami for Gase is Howie Roseman and Sam Bradford.
The next head coach of the Eagles is going to have a collaborative role with Howie Roseman, something that Chip Kelly agreed to upon his hiring, but eliminated by his third season with the team in his pursuit of power.
Similarly, Gase has success in working with quarterbacks, but would likely need some stability at the position. The Dolphins are very comfortable moving forward with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. The Eagles have several decisions to make regarding Sam Bradford. Even if Bradford returns under the franchise tag, he could still be looking for another team in the next offseason, leaving the Eagles back at square one in searching for a quarterback.
The final decision will ultimately rest in Gase's hands, but if he's looking for a more stable situation, Miami seems to be a more desirable destination than Philadelphia.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
