Lynne Sladky / Associated Press
The New York Jets plans to fire coach Adam Gase after the team’s season ended Sunday against the New England Patriots, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
The NFL Network duo then reported a long list of names under consideration for the Jets’ work, including Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Indianapolis Colts defense coordinator Matt Eberflus, Baltimore Ravens defense coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale, Tennessee Titans Arthur Smith offensive coordinator and Los Angeles defense coordinator Rams Brandon Staley.
Three university coaches–Matt Campbell from Iowa, Jim Harbaugh from Michigan and Dan Mullen from Florida–were also included in the list of names from Rapoport and Pelissero, who also wrote that “long and complete search “.
Gase, 42, had a difficult life in his two seasons with the Jets, taking the team to a pitiful 9-22 record. Although there were some circumstances beyond his control – like quarterback Sam Darnold wasting his time with mononucleosis in early 2019 – there is little doubt that the Jets underperformed dramatically.
Gase’s last two stops were unsuccessful. In three seasons with the Miami Dolphins before joining the Jets, Gase led the team to a record 23-25. Although the Dolphins reached the postseason in 2016, they promptly went from 6 to 10 in 2017 and 7 to 9 in 2018.
The Jets, meanwhile, arrived in 2019 with optimism centered on young players like Darnold, Jamal Adams and Quinnen Williams and off-season signings like Le’Veon Bell and CJ Mosley. But signs of trouble appeared even during the off-season, when the team fired the general manager Mike Maccagnan in May and replaced him with Joe Douglas in June.
This meant that the new head coach and general manager were working on a list put together by a different general manager, and when the team allegedly summoned several players within the negotiation deadline, including Adams, it became clear that the Jets were not shake the list. Adams would eventually be traded to the Seattle Seahawks before the 2020 season, while Bell was launched in October.
There was instability from the board to the technical team during the short period of Gase, with the team playing very poorly in 2020. His departure seemed imminent almost in the first snap of the regular season.
And the salt in the Jets fans’ wound was that the team started 0-13 before shockingly winning the next two games. This cost them the best overall choice in the draft for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are now in a position to select Clemson’s quarterback (and the most common choice in the draft) Trevor Lawrence in the process.