In Adam Gase, Jets Pick a Coach They Could Rarely Beat
After
a busy, 10-day coaching search that saw the team chairman Christopher
Johnson and General Manager Mike Maccagnan interview eight candidates,
the Jets decided on Wednesday to name Gase their next head coach,
according to a person familiar with the deal who is not authorized to
comment publicly about it.
The hire was first reported by ESPN and NFL Network, and a formal announcement is expected to come on Thursday.
Gase
went 23-25 in three seasons with the Miami Dolphins in the A.F.C. East,
reaching the postseason in just one of those years. But he was 5-1
against the Jets, including two wins in 2018.
It is a pivotal
hire for the franchise, which fired Todd Bowles on Dec. 30 after four
playoff-less seasons that extended a postseason drought that started in
2011. But in quarterback Sam Darnold, who will be entering his sophomore
season, the team believes it has a franchise cornerstone brimming with
potential.
Gase, 40, checked a lot of
boxes for Johnson and Maccagnan, who led the search. He is a young but
experienced coach with a reputation as an innovative playcaller. Most
important for his new team, he is a quarterback guru, who received rave
reviews for his work with players including Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler,
and Tim Tebow — work that the Jets hope will continue with Darnold.
Gase was
considered a rising star in 2016, when he was hired by Miami as the
youngest coach in the N.F.L. He had spent two seasons as the offensive
coordinator for the Denver Broncos, who set N.F.L. scoring records and
reached the Super Bowl with his creative, pass-heavy offense. As the
Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2015, he helped Cutler reduce
his interceptions and record a career-best passer rating.
His
breakthrough into head coaching, however, came with mixed results.
Gase, who also called the plays for Miami, went 10-6 his first season
and reached the playoffs — losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a
wild-card game — but the team failed to finish over .500 the next two
years. Gase’s young quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, missed the entire 2017
season and five games in 2018. And with an injury-depleted roster this
season, Gase received some credit for managing to keep the team in
contention until the final month of the season.
A
protégé of Nick Saban, Gase did not play college football but started
assisting on Saban’s staff as a student at Michigan State. When Saban
later left for Louisiana State, Gase was the only staff member who left
with him. And during the week leading up to the Super Bowl in 2014,
Manning called Gase “the smartest guy I know.”
Gase’s hiring
caps a coaching search that carried a palpable sense of urgency. On Dec.
31, a day after the conclusion of the regular season, Johnson and
Maccagnan outlined what they were looking for in the next coach, knowing
that seven other teams were in the same boat. And the Jets quickly got
to interviewing; the candidates included the former head coaches Jim
Caldwell and Mike McCarthy; the coordinators Eric Bieniemy, Todd Monken,
and Kris Richard; and the Baylor University coach Matt Rhule.
Gase’s
résumé stands out among those of past Jets coaches. He is the
franchise’s first coach to be hired with any prior head coaching
experience since Bill Parcells in 1997 and the first with an offensive
background since Rich Kotite in 1995.
While
Johnson and Maccagnan did not rule out hiring another defense-minded
coach, their remarks made clear that they were focused on finding
someone who could mentor Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s
draft. And with the No. 3 pick yet again this year, and over $100
million in salary cap space this off-season, the burden is on Maccagnan,
in the final year of his contract, to put together a roster that can
finally compete for a division title.
On Dec. 31, Johnson said he believed the Jets’ opening was an attractive one, and not only because of Darnold.
“If you win here, you’re a freaking legend,” Johnson said. “That counts for something.”
Gase will get the chance to find out.
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