Dolphins surprisingly fire Adam Gase amid AFC East head coach shakeup

Add Adam Gase to the lengthy list of Black Monday victims.

The Miami Dolphins have fired Gase as their head coach, Gase told ESPN's Jeff Darlington on Monday. The 40-year-old is the sixth head coach to lose his job since Sunday, as there now are a total of eight head coach openings across the league.

REPORT: Brian Flores drawing interest from at least three NFL teams

The eight NFL head coaching vacancies:
* Bengals
* Broncos
* Browns
* Buccaneers
* Cardinals
* Dolphins
* Jets
* Packers
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 31, 2018

Gase wasn't exactly a top candidate to get fired this offseason. While the Dolphins finished a disappointing 7-9, Gase led them to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth just three seasons ago and had been working to change the culture in Miami.

But according to reports, Gase's relationship with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks.

Per source, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross had planned to take some time to make a decision on Adam Gase, but something happened that caused Ross to accelerate his timetable.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 31, 2018

Even if Dolphins had decided to retain Gase, the relationship was going to require considerable reparation. Trust between Gase and Ross had eroded in recent weeks — and Gase already rebuffed Ross’ desire for him to give up 53-man roster control. It quickly went from bad to worse.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) December 31, 2018

Among those who may have seen Gase's firing coming: Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who openly criticized Gase after his trade from the Dolphins last summer. Here's how Landry reacted to Monday's news:

😂😂😂😂
— Jarvis Juice Landry (@God_Son80) December 31, 2018

New England Patriots fans may have a similar reaction. Gase's firing and the New York Jets canning Todd Bowles means the AFC East will welcome two new head coaches next season -- the 26th and 27th new coaches in the division since Bill Belichick took over the Patriots in 2000.

AFC East head coaches since 2000. #Patriots #Jets #Dolphins #Bills @BostonSportsBSJ pic.twitter.com/khr1eO14BO
— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) December 31, 2018

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