A Gase at the Jets New Head Coach

Adam Gase, Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post.

The Jets hired their new head coach in Adam Gase after the firing of Todd Bowles. On a quick side note, I liked Todd and his approach, and the players usually play hard for him, but after three out of four losing seasons, three straight double-digit losing seasons-- I'm sure it wasn't all his fault-- it was time for a change.

Gase coached the Miami Dolphins from 2016-2018. After making the playoffs his first year with the Dolphins, he finished 6-10 and 7-9 respectively from there, leading to his firing after the season. When I heard Adam was being considered for the Jets vacancy, I'll admit, he wasn't who I had in mind. I was pushing for Bruce Arians, but I thought later that he probably wouldn't be interested in taking the job after they fired Todd Bowles, who was Arians' defensive coordinator when coached for the Arizona Cardinals, and have now reunited in Tampa.

I will say that prior to the hire, I mentioned that I would prefer him over a coach from college-- unless they've had prior NFL coaching experience, I'm not a fan of them coaching at the next level-- as they were pursuing some collegiate names as well. Right now, the only two college coaches I would roll the dice with is Alabama's Nick Saban or Stanford's David Shaw.

When Gase was hired over Mike McCarthy, a Super Bowl winning head coach, and who was next on my list, I wasn't too thrilled, but there were a few things I considered immediately afterwards: he checked some of the boxes; he wasn't straight from college, the Jets wanted an offensive minded guy, and he's known as one of the best offensive minds in the game today, and he has beaten New England on more than one occasion.

Nearly every quarterback he has worked with improved their efficiency, most notably Jay Cutler, who had his career-best QB rating (92.3) under Gase. His completion percentage (64.4) was his second best, and his third down efficiency was the fourth in the league that year (2015). It's hard for me to credit him with Peyton Manning; Peyton was a household name prior to signing with the Denver Broncos, where Gase was the QBs coach in 2012-13, and the offensive coordinator in 2013-14, steering one of the most high-octane offenses in NFL history, nonetheless, and making a Super Bowl appearance that year.

Speaking of Peyton, it was him who recommended Gase during the Jets coaching search, which is what I think put him over and ultimately landed him the job. Although I wasn't the only one who at least initially who wasn't thrilled with the hire, I thought afterwards that the deal is done, it is what it is, give him a chance, let's see what he can do. He could be the next Sean Payton or perhaps better. I know, that's laughable now, but you never know. Sometimes it takes being in the right situation at the right time.

I'll say this: his reputation as a bright offensive mind combined with an up-and-coming quarterback in Sam Darnold, if the duo is anywhere near as lethal as Gase was with Manning, we could be talking about them being one of, if not the greatest quarterback/coach duo in history.