If the mob had its way, Adam Gase would already be a former Jets head coach. He wasn’t the most popular choice when he was hired a year and a half ago anyway, and his reputation wasn’t helped by a 1-7 start and a tumultuous first year. Then Jamal Adams ripped him publicly, which is when his last supporters outside the organization probably disappeared.
But there’s a reason why mobs should never rule and fans don’t get a voice in the decisions of their favorite teams. Inside the organization there is faith in the 42-year-old head coach, including in some very important corners of the locker room. They all know last year was a disaster, but they also know Gase deserves a little more credit than he’s getting for not letting it all get worse.
And most of all, as he heads into just his second season with the franchise, they know Adam Gase deserves a chance.
A real chance.
“I especially believe in Coach Gase,” said Jets GM Joe Douglas. “I believe he’s the right coach to lead this team. Having watched him work last year, having seen him and his staff overcome a 1-7 start and finish the way we did, I feel really good about where we are with him and his leadership.”
Added franchise quarterback Sam Darnold: “He’s the right leader for this team for sure.”
It’s understandable why Gase has his doubters. He was only 23-25 in his three years with the Miami Dolphins, yet the Jets jumped all over him, hiring him only 11 days after he was fired. Then came the horrific 1-7 start, plus a few disputes that spilled over into the public domain with players like guard Kelechi Osemele and receiver Quincy Enunwa, and Adams at the trade deadline, too.
But here’s the truth: Osemele’s dispute was with the Jets’ organization over the seriousness of his injury. Enunwa was an injured player unhappy he was being fined. Adams’ anger was mostly at Douglas for fielding an inquiry about a trade, when he felt he should’ve been an untouchable player. None of those are really out-of-the-ordinary occurrences in the NFL – especially on losing teams. It’s not a sign of locker-room dysfunction or a reflection of Gase’s leadership.
It was a sign that everyone around the Jets had become miserable because things had gone so wrong, so fast.
And it didn’t help that Gase was a first-year coach who had a lot to prove when he was hired, including to the players in his locker room. The 1-7 start certainly proved nothing to anyone. Any faith any player had in him had to be strained. At that point no one could truly believe the Jets had hired a winner, so Gase became an easy target, especially for players who were either on their way out, or wanted to be out.
But then came the 6-2 finish. Credit that to a soft schedule if you want, but the bottom line is that once Darnold had fully recovered from mono and Gase had his quarterback back, he managed to pull a listless team off the floor and guide it to, at the very least, a respectable finish. Any evaluation of his first year can’t simply dismiss the final eight games, nor can it dismiss the impact of the loss of Darnold for a time on the first eight.
We have all seen 1-7 teams completely fall apart once they know they had nothing to play for. They become miserable. They lack motivation. And when they know that changes are coming – which they obviously were under a new GM and a relatively new coach – it’s easy for teams like that to fold.
Gase’s Jets didn’t.
“I’ve seen Adam this year go through a 1-7 start and a coach who never lost patience, who never wavered from his beliefs,” Douglas said. “And (he’s) a guy who would get up and have the tough conversations if he had to with players and have great communication with the team.
“Everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve witnessed in my year here with Adam I’ve been impressed by. I can’t speak for other people, but everything I’ve seen has been outstanding.”
That’s not to say that Gase is definitively the right coach to lead the Jets to “the Promised Land,” as Adams called it. No matter how well the second half of last season went, the Jets still went 7-9 and his four-year record as a head coach is still 30-34. There is no doubt he has a lot to prove, and if this year is a disaster, Douglas would have to at least consider going in another direction.
But the franchise quarterback – the most important person in the entire organization – swears by the coach. That alone should be enough to give Gase a fair shot this year. The GM and coach worked together to rebuild the roster the way they wanted it to look, including with players “who want to be here,” as Gase said in a parting shot at Adams. He brought in veteran running back Frank Gore, a respected voice who will support the coach in the locker room. Darnold, knock on wood, is healthy. Linebacker C.J. Mosley, a key defensive player who missed most of last season, is back.
Even without Adams, the pieces should be in place for a good season if the Jets’ 6-2 finish meant anything, and the Gase offense should start to click behind a rebuilt offensive line. There are flaws with this Jets team, no doubt. They are still rebuilding. And they are certainly no lock for the playoffs. But there’s enough there for Gase to really be able to show what kind of coach he is.
The players left behind appear willing to give him the chance to do that. And the truth is, there has always been more support for Gase among the players in the locker room than it sometimes is perceived. There is definitely still some uncertainty. He still has to show them something.
But he deserves the chance to prove that Douglas and Darnold are right about him. It’s still possible that Gase will turn out to be the “right” man for this job.