Schad: Does hiring a head coach to fix a quarterback result in a fixed quarterback?

The Dolphins could hire a head coach who's been a quarterback, such as Doug Pederson or Kellen Moore.

They could hire a head coach who's been an offensive play-caller such as Brian Daboll or Jim Caldwell.

Or they could hire a head coach who's been an offensive coordinator, such as Mike McDaniel or Thomas Brown.

If Miami replaces Brian Flores with an offensive-minded head coach, the biggest charge in the mission will be to fix a woeful offense, and, of course, to fix the quarterback.

In this case, the quarterback is Tua Tagovailoa, less than two years ago the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft.

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Oh, it's always possible Miami hires a defensive-minded coach such as Dan Quinn, Leslie Frazier or Vance Joseph, if said coach has a brilliant hiring plan to fix the offense and quarterback.

But many recent NFL head coaching searches have focused on offensive gurus, and if they happen to be a quarterback whisperer, all the better.

After all, no player is as important as the quarterback. And no team investment is nearly as important as the quarterback.

Miami will make its next hire with Tua at the forefront of its mind. After all, the Dolphins already leaked to national reporters a plan to move forward with Tua, who ranked 19th in the NFL in passer rating and 27th in passing yards in 2021.

Surely that's being hashed out in head coach interviews.

In looking at recent quarterback-friendly hires, how have they worked out? Do quarterbacks really get better when a savvy offensive mind takes charge? Can those hires change everything for a quarterback and a team?

Does hiring quarterback fixers work?

Well, the results are mixed. In general, it seems a quarterback is who a quarterback is.

But here's one positive way to look at it:

In recent years, Kevin Stefanski (Baker Mayfield/Browns), Adam Gase (Sam Darnold/Jets), Matt Nagy (Mitch Trubisky/Bears), Sean McVay (Jared Goff/Rams), Dirk Koetter (Jameis Winston/Bucs), Jay Gruden (Robert Griffin III/Washington) and Gase (Ryan Tannehill/Dolphins) have been hired, largely, to "fix the quarterback."

In all seven of those cases, the named quarterback's passer rating did increase in the first year after named coaches' arrival. In most instances, it was the quarterbacks' second season.

In the case of Nagy and the Bears, Trubisky jumped from 7-7 and a passer rating of 77.5 to 11-3 and a rating 95.4.

Oh, and Trubisky also made the Pro Bowl.

In the case of McVay and the Rams, Goff jumped from 0-7 and a passer rating of 63.6 to 11-4 and a rating of 100.5.

Oh, and Goff then made two Pro Bowls. And led the Rams to a Super Bowl.

As you know, however, the stories didn't end so well for Trubisky and Goff. They each began to fade. Trubisky moved on to Buffalo and Goff was traded to Detroit.

Still, the improvements they made after John Fox and Jeff Fisher were let go following their rookie seasons should not be discounted. Coaching does matter.

It can be fairly argued that Mayfield, Darnold, Winston, Griffin III and Tannehill have not or did not reach their level of expectations, no matter who was coaching them.

Mayfield has not blossomed, whether coached by Hue Jackson, Freddie Kitchens or Stefanski. Winston's turnover issues were not cured by Koetter.

But what about whisperer Adam Gase?

Hiring Gruden did not have the desired impact on Griffin. And Gase did not help Tannehill take the Miami step hoped or Darnold the New York step hoped.

All coaches are eventually fired but there is a bit of a cautionary tale in Gase. Much of his coaching reputation was garnered while working with Peyton Manning in Denver.

Gase didn't have Manning in Miami or New York and couldn't replicate those results, of course. Stefanski has had some team success with the Browns and everyone is searching for the next McVay, of course.

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Brown, the former University of Miami offensive coordinator, is McVay's assistant head coach, but does not call plays.

Moore of the Cowboys does call plays, though you may have heard the last play he called was bit, well, controversial.

McDaniel is Kyle Shahanan's right-hand man in San Francisco. Shanahan is one of those offensive guru, quarterback-whisperer types, of course. But it should be noted McDaniel does not call the plays.

It has not been reported that the Dolphins are interviewing Pederson, but he is a former Dolphins quarterback and won a Super Bowl coaching the Eagles. He also called the plays, so it would seem like an obvious candidate.

Brian Daboll has already coached Tua

As for Daboll, perhaps he is the most clear-cut choice for Miami overall. After all, Daboll has helped turn Josh Allen into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and the Bills into one of the best offenses in the NFL.

And Daboll has coached under Bill Belichick, Nick Saban and Sean McDermott. At Alabama, Daboll was Tua's offensive coordinator.

Who better to fix Tua than one of Tua's college coaches?

Of course, some will note that Tua has not yet shown that he is or can be Allen.

There are some head coaches who have hand-picked their quarterbacks and seen it work out with splendor.

Think Zac Taylor-Joe Burrow. Think Kliff Kingsbury-Kyler Murray. Think Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes.

But in this case, Miami is hoping to find an incoming coach who believes Tua can reach their expectation. The feeling is mutual in Jacksonville, which has Trevor Lawrence to attract a candidate, and Chicago, where Justin Fields is part of the benefits package.

Will the projected quarterback impact a coaches' decision on which job to pick? How would a potential head coach compare those three quarterbacks?

When McVay arrived in Los Angeles, his impact on Goff was immediate and monumental. He built Goff's confidence, improved the offense and helped generate outstanding results.

As we know, though, at some point McVay determined the quarterback he'd inherited was simply not good enough to win a Super Bowl. The Rams traded for Matthew Stafford and Goff was gone.

What the Dolphins are hoping is that the coach they hire can improve the performance of the team, dramatically improve the performance of the offense, and get the most out of Tagovailoa.

In an ideal world, the next coach will fix everything.

Especially the quarterback.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins want to fix Tua Tagovailoa. Can a QB be fixed?