Gase, Lynn, Marrone fired Monday
NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Gase came to New York with high hopes he would be the perfect fit to help quarterback Sam Darnold take the next step in his development and boost the Jets’ offense.
And lead the team back to the postseason.
None of that materialized. So, the search is on — again — for a frustrated franchise.
The Jets fired Gase on Sunday night, ending a disappointing tenure after just two loss-filled seasons.
“While my sincere intentions are to have stability in our organization — especially in our leadership positions — it is clear the best decision for the Jets is to move in a different direction,” Jets chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson said in a statement issued by the team.
Hired by the Jets in January 2019, Gase went 9-23 with New York, including an 0-13 start that was the worst in franchise history — overshadowing even the 1996 squad that went 0-8 on the way to a 1-15 finish, and is generally recognized as the team’s worst.
The move was announced by the team a few hours after New York lost 28-14 at New England on Sunday to end the season 2-14 — the second-worst record in franchise history.
“To our fans, it is obvious we have not been good enough,” Johnson said. “We are committed to building a strong organization, on and off the field, and will continue to provide the necessary resources to field a team that you can be proud of.”
Darnold regressed in his third season before being sidelined twice because of an injured right shoulder, while the offense — ravaged by injuries early and not to mention the impact of the pandemic — was mostly inept. The Jets struggled until late in the season to put a consistently competitive offense on the field. Gase even handed off offensive play-calling duties to coordinator Dowell Loggains for a stretch to try to spark things.
CHARGERS REGRESSED
COSTA MESA, Calif. — A fourgame winning streak at the end of the season wasn’t enough to save Anthony Lynn’s job with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Owner Dean Spanos on Monday fired Lynn after four seasons. Lynn led the franchise to the playoffs in 2018 but Los Angeles had losing records the last two seasons.
“I’m not sure there is another person in this league more respected as a human being than Anthony, and I want to sincerely express my deepest gratitude for his leadership,” Spanos said in a statement. “As we all know, this is a results-driven business and, simply put, the results of the past two years have fallen short of expectations.”
The Chargers were 3-9 after a 45-0 loss to the New England Patriots on Dec. 6, the worst loss in franchise history. They bounced back strongly by going unbeaten the rest of the way, including a 38-21 victory over Kansas City on Sunday, though the Chiefs sat out many key players.
Lynn tried to deflect talk about his future after Sunday’s game, but gave some indications that he expected he wouldn’t be back.
“You know what, if I got what I deserved, it would be really bad. I think we have done a good job here, under the circumstances,” he said.
JAGS REBUILDING
Shad Khan has hired coaches and general managers before. He relied on a search firm the first time. He enlisted help from a consultant the second. He listened to friends, family, colleagues and even competitors along the way.
Now, after nine NFL seasons and little success on the field, the Jacksonville Jaguars owner is taking a more hands-on approach to fixing the franchise’s most glaring problems.
Khan is handling the search for his next coach and general manager mostly alone, with some help from Jaguars President Mark Lamping.
“This time around, I think I have a much better sense myself,” Khan said Monday after firing coach Doug Marrone. “I’m the key decision maker.”
Khan plans to have the team’s next power duo report directly to him, a structure he expects will keep him in the loop on major personnel decisions. Khan said he wants to maintain “roster control,” a term he later clarified as “you don’t want players going in and out or contracts given until you’re aware of that.”