When the Dolphins and Patriots take the field at an empty Gillette Stadium on Sunday, perhaps the most important of all Miami coaches not named Brian Flores will slide into his familiar seat in a coaches' booth high above the action.
Chan Gailey, 68, will officially make his return to pro football Sunday, calling his first game as an NFL offensive coordinator since announcing his retirement in January 2017.
Brian Flores coaxed Gailey out of the good life eight months ago, offering him the chance to reunite with one of the league's oldest quarterbacks and tutor one of the league's youngest.
It'll be Ryan Fitzpatrick, not Tua Tagovailoa, who starts for the Dolphins in Week 1. Both Fitzpatrick and his longtime friend and teacher hope their third go-'round begins a lot like how their second go-'round ended.
Gailey's final game as the New York Jets' offensive coordinator was New Years Day 2017 (he retired two days later), when the Jets routed the Bills 30-10.
Gailey's quarterback that day? The very same Ryan Fitzpatrick who will operate Gailey's offense Sunday in New England. Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes that day with a passer rating of 109.
The names and colors on the jerseys have changed, but the bond between the two men endures.
"His leadership is unbelievable," Gailey said of Fitzpatrick Monday, "His understanding of the game is right up there with the best. He understands not only what we're trying to do, but what the defense is trying to do. That gives a quarterback a leg up.
"It wasn't necessarily the case our first year together in Buffalo, but he's gotten to the point the last six or seven years that that's been a real asset for him."
While a generation or two separate Gailey and Fitzpatrick, they are a lot alike. Most notably: they both have a burning desire to beat the team across from them each week.
When asked what he enjoys most about calling plays _ which Gailey has done in for the better part of a quarter-century _ he responded:
"You're in the business because you like to win," Gailey said. "Everybody says they want to compete. ... No, you want to win. If you don't compete, you won't win. But I love winning. It may be winning a series. It may be winning a half. Ultimately you're about winning a game.
"That's what I enjoy about play calling _ winning. I don' t think I have all the answers, but hopefully have enough to help us win."
Gailey was a bit of a stranger to most of the Dolphins coaches who returned from last year's staff, like defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. They faced each other plenty of times over the years, but never really crossed paths before Gailey joined the Dolphins.
"I've always kind of respected him from afar," Boyer said. "Getting to meet him in person is awesome. We've had some really good conversations about football. He's a great football coach. More important, he's a really good man."
Other takeaways from Gailey's weekly media availability:
_ While he deferred questions about the decision to start Fitzpatrick over Tagovailoa to Flores, Gailey did say this: "I think last year's play and this year's preparation and play played a lot into the decision. "
_ Gailey on the training camp performance of wide receiver Preston Williams, who spent the offseason recovering from major knee surgery: "Some days, he looked great. Other days you could tell he wasn't 100% There were more really good days than bad days. We tried to rest him. I think he's in a good place going into the first ball game."
_ Why does Gailey prefer to call games from the booth?
"The calmness of being able to think through the next series, look at the pictures, think about things without somebody coming up and telling you they were open on the last play. It's great to just sit there and think about how you need to go about beating the defense the next time out. You can spread out and have some calmness."
