Gase must know the time is now
Nearly 16 months after Adam Gase uttered the cut-throat truth about the world he lives in, the Jets head coach predictably dodged accountability for his words.
It’s been 475 days since Gase made it clear that Jets fans would forget about his role in firing general manager Mike Maccagnan if he produced on the field.
“I think our fans care if we win or lose,” Gase said on May 23, 2019. “If we win games, nobody’s going to remember this. I know that. Our job is to win. Our job is to WIN. That’s it.”
Truer words were never spoken by the mercurial coach, who failed miserably in that pursuit last season. The 6-9 Jets were giftwrapped a win by the Bills in a de facto preseason finale in Week 17. Gase, dubbed an “innovator” who was “coaching football to where it’s going” by CEO Christopher Johnson, was the architect of the NFL’s worst offense in 2019.
Gase’s offense finished 31st or 32nd in scoring, total yards, rushing, first downs, thirddown conversion rate, Football Outsiders’ rushing efficiency, passing and overall efficiency. The Jets were 29th in total offense in the 13 games Sam Darnold started.
Gase, who has coached teams with losing records for three consecutive seasons with two franchises, has become Public Enemy No. 1 among a fanbase that understandably wants much better results amid the league’s third-longest playoff drought (nine seasons).
So, is it fair for Jets fans to want a new head coach if the team finishes with another losing record?
“Let’s get to Week 1. See what happens,” Gase said Wednesday. “I’m glad that you’re worried about Week 16 already. Let’s get to Week 1.”
Gase had never been more correct than 16 months ago when he painted life in the NFL as the ultimate dog-eatdog existence. Sooner or later, you have to deliver.
That time is now for Gase, who has a two decade-long track of losing. Gase has been on only four teams with winning records in 17 seasons (six organizations) in the NFL. Three of those four seasons came with Peyton Manning as his quarterback. He’s only been a part of one winning team in 13 seasons without Manning.
It’s a watershed moment for the fast-talking coach, who is 30-35 in four seasons as a head coach. The good news is Darnold has special gifts that could carry the day. Although expectations for both the coach and quarterback have been heightened as they begin their second season together, there’s little doubt that Gase faces much more pressure entering 2020.
“We’ve both just talked about last year we felt like we could have been so much better than we were,” Gase said. “I get it. The mono kind of threw some things off for us. And we were battling some changes, some injuries… It never was smooth.
“My expectations and his expectations are always going to be extremely high,” Gase added. “That’s why we do this… We might not talk about it publicly, but me and him when we’re together our expectations are always probably going to be a lot higher than everybody else’s.”
Gase said he was pleased with the “consistency” later in the season because “everyone was really picking up on what we were doing and how to attack week in and week out,” but the turnover on offense this offseason effectively negates that.
The Jets have seven new offensive starters and two other expected key contributors, who weren’t on the club last season.