Jets quarterback Sam Darnold reportedly believes Adam Gase is "the right guy" to be head coach.
Darnold FaceTimed with Gase on Monday night and felt he was a good fit to replace Todd Bowles, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini.
In fact, he is ecstatic to work with his new head coach.
"I couldn't be more excited about this, to be honest with you," Darnold told the Daily News' Manish Mehta. "I'm really pumped about this opportunity to be with Coach Gase. ...with his mind and ability to lead a team. He's a good dude. The excitement and the passion that he has for the game is very contagious. I think that wil rub off on a lot of the guys...I'm super pumped about this whole thing and couldn't be more stoked for the opportunity."
Cimini added the 21-year-old Darnold did not "impose his opinion" on the team's front office, including GM Mike Maccagnan, but Gase's work with past quarterbacks, including Peyton Manning, helps speak for itself.
Manning actually called Jets CEO Christopher Johnson to back Gase as well. After all, Manning threw for a career-high 55 touchdowns and 5,477 passing yards en route to a Super Bowl title at age 37 with Gase as Denver's offensive coordinator.
So what can the Jets expect from Gase? Darnold believes his passion for the game and his team will show immediately.
"He's very fiery," Darnold said about Gase. "I love that about him. I love the passion that he brings. At the same time, I'm going to be me. He'll just bring a certain attitude to this team that we need. I'm really looking forward to hearing his ideas and what he thinks might work best, what he thinks I do well, what we want to utilize in terms of running an offense."
Gase and Darnold will be working very closely, as the Jets wanted to bring a head coach in that could groom Darnold into the successful franchise quarterback they envisioned when they called his name in last year's Draft. Gase may not have developed a young quarterback in his NFL years, but he was able to get an aging Manning to a Super Bowl. And when Ryan Tannehill was healthy in his first season as Dolphins head coach, he led his team to the playoffs with a 10-6 record.
Darnold realizes that part of Gase's resume, and he doesn't see why he can't be added to it as well.
"Coach Gase has done amazing things not with just quarterbacks, but offense in general," Darnold said. "I think we can take this a long way. There's a lot to be excited about. There's a lot of points that are going to be scored."
Gase becomes the first offensive-minded head coach the Jets hired since Rich Kotite, which may bode well for the Jets' franchise quarterback.
In his rookie year, Darnold threw for 2,865 yards, 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 13 games. Darnold missed three games with a sprained foot midway through the season, but in four weeks after returning, he threw for 931 yards, six touchdowns and one interception with one lost fumble, completing 64 percent of his passes.
Perhaps Gase can help Darnold pick up where he left off in 2019.