The Miami Dolphins hired Adam Gase as the 12th head coach in franchise history on Saturday.
Gase, the former offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, becomes the NFL's youngest head coach at age 37.
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported that Gase signed a five-year deal.
"We did exhaustive research on all of the candidates ahead of time and conducted thorough and detailed interviews with each person," Dolphins owner and managing general partner Stephen Ross said in a statement. "In the end, I was convinced and the search committee was unanimous Adam was the right leader for our football team who best met all of our priorities. He has high-energy is competitive and driven to win with a mindset of teaching and developing players."
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During Gase's introductory press conference Saturday, the Dolphins announced he will have full control of the team's 53-man roster.
Gase also said he will call plays on offense.
"It's going to start with the right people," Gase said Saturday. "It starts with the players, it also starts up top and we think we have the people in place who have the passion, the work ethic and unselfishness we need to compete and be a winning organization.
"We are looking for guys who want to invest in winning. It's going to be critical that guys come in here day in and day out and understand that's what we want."
In his one season in Chicago after he followed head coach John Fox from Denver, Gase drew praise for turning the fortunes of enigmatic Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
"I couldn't be happier for Adam and his family," Cutler told the Bears' website. "He has worked extremely hard his entire career and is very deserving of this opportunity. I wish he could stay with us in Chicago, but everyone has a journey and this is the next part of his.
"His work with quarterbacks is well documented and I know firsthand how good he is. He will now continue to have success in this league as a head coach. I thank him for all his hard work and look forward to following this next step in his career."
The Dolphins were 6-10 this season and missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year. They wanted a coach who can take fourth-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the next level and become more consistent. Tannehill was given a $96 million extension last year, but he has a 29-35 record as a starter.
From 2009-14, Gase was on the Broncos' staff, spending two years as wide receivers coach, two years as quarterbacks coach and 2013 and 2014 as the offensive coordinator.
The most famous quarterback who worked with Gase was Peyton Manning, who set NFL?single-season records in 2013 with 55 touchdown passes and 5,477 passing yards in Gase's first year as offensive coordinator for the Broncos.
"I'm very happy for Adam," Manning said Saturday. "Adam had a great impact on me during our three years together here in Denver as my quarterbacks coach and then as offensive coordinator. He's an extremely hard worker, a grinder. He's extremely bright on all things football, an excellent communicator and always eager to learn more. He asks a lot of questions and writes everything down. I've always been impressed with his work ethic and his eagerness to learn more. He'll be an excellent head coach, without a doubt. He is ready for this for sure."
The Dolphins interviewed seven candidates this week, including former interim head coach Dan Campbell and former longtime head coaches Mike Shanahan and Mike Smith.
