The New York Jets Couldn’t Even Wait Until Monday to Fire Adam Gase
Even a two-game win streak couldn’t save Adam Gase. The New York Jets fired their head coach after Sunday’s season finale against the New England Patriots. While most teams typically wait until the Monday after the regular season ends to pink-slip their coaches, the Jets wasted no time saying goodbye to Gase.
The Jets just capped another dismal season
Things got so bad for the New York Jets in the 2020 season that they couldn’t even lose when they wanted to. After dropping their first 13 games of the season, the Jets went on the road and shocked the world. Entering as 17-point underdogs against the Los Angeles Rams, they defeated the Rams 23-20 in Week 15.
The loss took them out of the running for having the best shot at Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL draft. They completely ruined the shot at the No. 1 pick by defeating the Cleveland Browns the following week. The Jets finished with a 2-14 record and will pick second in the 2021 draft.
The Jets haven’t had a winning season since 2015 when head coach Todd Bowles led them to a 10-6 mark. Bowles was let go after the 2018 season. New York brought in Adam Gase for the 2019 season and things never got any better.
Adam Gase’s coaching career
Adam Gase had the reputation of being a great offensive mind. He was supposed to help mentor young quarterbacks and help struggling offenses. It didn’t turn out that way. Gase got his first head coaching job in 2016 when the Miami Dolphins signed him.
Gase had been the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2015 and the Dolphins brought the then-38-year-old aboard to be the head coach. In his first year with the team, Gase went 10-6 and brought Miami to the playoffs. After the promising start to his coaching career, it all went downhill. Gase went 6-10 and 7-9 in his next two seasons and was fired after the 2018 season.
The New York Jets immediately signed Gase as their head coach. In his first season in 2019, Gase and the Jets went 7-9. Gase was supposed to help develop young quarterback Sam Darnold, who hasn’t lived up to his lofty expectations as a first-round draft pick. In 2020, the Jets went 2-14. For his career, Gase finished with a 32-48 mark, including his one playoff loss.
The Jets wasted no time in firing Adam Gase
After Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots to put the cap on a painful 2020 campaign for the New York Jets, the team fired Gase. New York Jets Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson wasted no time in issuing a statement.
“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,” Johnson said in a statement. “We knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done when Adam joined us in 2019. Our strong finish last year was encouraging, but unfortunately, we did not sustain that positive momentum or see the progress we all expected this season.
“To our fans, it is obvious we have not been good enough. 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.” Gase is still young enough to stick around the NFL, but it’s likely he’ll hook on as a coordinator or quarterbacks coach.
Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
