END OF DAYS
Coach, QB aren't getting it done for Gang
LAST call is fast approaching for Adam Gase.
For Sam Darnold, too.
At the very least, closing time is coming for the Jets’ embattled and universally unpopular head coach, who with every game he coaches is showing he’s simply not up to this job and was the wrong hire in the first place.
The sample size for Gase is growing, and the results are not getting better. They’re getting worse. And that’s damning, always a prelude to a firing.
It’s possible that Gase’s last stand comes as soon as Thursday. That’s when the 0-3 Jets will play the 0-3 Broncos at MetLife Stadium in a game between arguably the two worst teams in the league.
Make no mistake: This will be a pressure-point game for Gase.
Perhaps the only saving grace for Gase (and it’s a minor one) is the fact that, because of COVID-19 restrictions, no fans are allowed at MetLife Stadium, so that spares ownership the embarrassment of a half-full stadium of fed-up fans expressing their ire in front of a “Thursday Night Football’’ audience.
The loser of that game will inch one step closer to the first-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, which means the option to select Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence to change the course of the franchise.
Sunday against the Colts in Indianapolis was never going to be a true litmus test for Gase and the Jets, who entered the day as the heaviest underdogs on the Week 3 schedule (11 points) and were never going to win this game.
However, simply being competitive for 60 minutes — something the Jets failed to do in their first two losses this season — was a baby step team owner Christopher Johnson and general manager Joe
Douglas were looking for out of Sunday’s game.
But that baby step never was taken. The baby pulled a hamstring.
The 36-7 slap in the face the Jets took from the Colts, who scored the game’s final 29 points, could not be characterized as being competitive on the part of the Jets, who look like a dead team with no hope or direction only three weeks into the season.
The Jets have lost their three games by a total of 94-37, and have been outscored 59-13 in the first half of those losses.
Along the way, Darnold simply has not risen above the ashes to make those around him better — even though, in fairness, many of those around him are backups because of the rash of injuries the team has suffered. He hasn’t performed like a third-overall draft pick needs to perform to stick around for the long term.
Subsequently, when Gase is fired, it’s likely Darold becomes collateral damage — even if he hasn’t been dealt the best hand since he was drafted with constant change in coaches, offensive systems and not enough skill-position players around him.
You know another quarterback who wasn’t dealt a very good hand by the Jets?
Mark Sanchez.
Say what you want about Sanchez, but he accomplished a lot more in his first three seasons than Darnold has to date and, in the end, it was Rex Ryan’s foolish mismanagement of him that sabotaged Sanchez’s Jets career.
Darnold, remember, was not drafted by Douglas. So, if Douglas has the first-overall pick come springtime, how can he pass up Lawrence?
As much as Sam is liked and it is agreed upon that he’s had a disjointed three seasons with the Jets, what he’s shown in his two-plus seasons has not been enough. Conversely, he looks like he’s regressed.
That’s on Darnold. It, too, is on Gase, who hasn’t done what he was brought here to do: Develop Darnold, who continues to make the same mistakes he made as a rookie.
Sunday’s performance by Darnold was inexcusable. He lost the game for the Jets, throwing three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns and another in the end zone.
“I’m not playing consistent enough to play well in this league,’’ Darnold said in a statement that was equal parts honest, damning and alarming. “[I’ve] got to be better.’’
So does Gase. And his time is running out to do so.
Yes, the Jets have been decimated with injuries this season. If you want to blame their problems on the injuries, go ahead. But the problem is bigger than that. The Jets have played three games and been noncompetitive in all three. That’s on the head coach. Gase was asked after the game about his job security, which is growing more tenuous by the minute.
“I’m going to do what I always do — come to work tomorrow,’’ Gase said. “I’ve got to focus on getting our guys right.’’
Last call.