Adam Gase has found a new head coaching gig in the AFC East.
On Wednesday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported the New York Jets would hire the former Miami Dolphins skipper as their next head coach and on Friday afternoon the franchise made it official.
Gase was fired by Miami less than two weeks ago after three seasons with the Dolphins. The 40-year-old led Miami to a 10-6 record and postseason appearance in his first season at the helm, but went 13-19 in the following two years, both of which were marred by injuries and discontinuity at the quarterback position.
After mixed results with the oft-injured Ryan Tannehill in Miami, the Jets are hoping Gase and franchise quarterback of the future Sam Darnold make for a prolific coach-player tandem. It looks like they're off to a good start. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Darnold supported the hire.
Gase is the first coach hired by Jets with previous head coaching experience since Bill Parcells in 1997 and the first coach with an offensive background hired by Gang Green since Rich Kotite in 1995. Parcells coached the Jets to a franchise-best .604 winning percentage and an AFC title game appearance in his three seasons in charge. Kotite had quite the opposite effect, leading the Jets to just four wins in two seasons.
As for the other candidates the Jets were considering, and there were many, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule told his staff minutes before Gase's hiring broke that he was returning to the program and was not pursuing NFL head coaching vacancies. Rapoport reported Rhule was not offered the Jets' gig. There were reportedly discussions about the makeup of Rhule's coaching staff that prompted the Jets and the Baylor coach to break off a deal, sources told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy was among the favorites for the Jets job, but now that New York has gone in a different direction, McCarthy told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero that he will sit out the 2019 season. As he put it, "Family excited about dad at home for 2019. That's all that matters as we both know."
A former head coach could be joining Gase's staff in Florham Park. Ex-Broncos coach Vance Joseph may join Gase's staff as defensive coordinator if he is not hired as the Cincinnati Bengals' next head coach, Rapoport reported. Joseph was Gase's DC in Miami in 2016 before he was hired in Denver.
Gase is also expected to hire Dowell Loggains, his offensive coordinator in Miami in 2018, Rapoport added. That's if Loggains can get out of his contract with the Dolphins. Loggains worked under Gase in Miami and Chicago.
In hiring Gase, the Jets are following a league-wide trend in pairing a hot-shot coordinator or offensive mind with a young, undeveloped franchise QB, searching for the Sean McVay to their Jared Goff, or most recently the Kliff Kingsbury to their Josh Rosen. But there's more to turning this franchise around than maximizing Darnold's potential.
Gase will be tasked with working hand in hand with holdover general manager Mike Maccagnan to populate the skill positions around Darnold with playmakers, locate a bona fide pass rusher and build depth roster-wide, something Gase's predecessor, Todd Bowles, was unable to do with Maccagnan. Blessed with over $100 million in cap space, New York should have no trouble compensating free agents, but locating the right ones this offseason will be paramount to Gase's initial success.
