Colin Cowherd, Eric Dickerson Slam Adam Gase Over Sam Darnold Sideline Tiff
To Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson and national radio host Colin Cowherd, the sideline tiff between New York Jets head coach Adam Gase and quarterback Sam Darnold was telling. The incident occurred on Thursday night of the Jets 42-21 loss at the Ravens.
Coming to the sidelines late in the game, Gase was visibly frustrated with his second-year quarterback, who didn’t have a great game but had some struggles against one of the league’s better defenses. Darnold stood on the sidelines talking with Gase for several moments before walking away, then returned and appeared to have made a gesture that looked like he was disgusted with the conversation.
On Friday, Cowherd talked about this incident on his national program on FoxSports Radio that is simulcast as well on FS1. Cowherd had Dickerson on the show as an in-studio guest.
After discussing NFL topics around the league, Cowherd introduced the Gase-Darnold issue with a bit of a rant. Needless to say, the Jets head coach did not hold up well to this scrutiny.
“The NFL is a very strange business. A billionaire owner, 40-year old executives, 50-year old coaches and 25-year old players. Something about the Jets bothers me. I say there is an All-Sideline team for coaches in the NFL: [John] Harbaugh, [Sean] Payton, Sean McVay, Pete Carroll Mike Tomlin, are on the sideline,” Cowherd said on his show.
“They have juice, they talk, they’re positive they’re teachers. When I watch Adam Gase on the sideline, he makes me anxious. He’s buried- he’s this, he’s buried in a play sheet. He’s cynical. My wife taught me this years ago. She said ‘When you come into the house with our kids, the first minute will dictate the mood of the house. Come in with a smile, how’s everybody doing? If you’re pissed, talk about it with me five minutes later. When I watch Adam Gase on the sideline last night, the optics…Sam Darnold comes over, you can tell Darnold is done with him.”
Dickerson, a six-time Pro Bowl selection who still holds the league’s single season rushing record, agreed with Cowherd that the right sideline demeanor matters to players.
“You’re right Colin, it matters a lot you feed off your coaches and your coaching staff, you really. When a coach is almost like, to a point – you’re a head coach – you can’t call everything, you can’t do it all. But you have to be engaged with your coach,” Dickerson said. “A Pete Carroll or a Sean McVey, who is talking to his players…it keeps them excited.”
Carroll, according to Cowherd, is someone who keeps things upbeat on the sideline, even when losing. Not so much the Jets current head coach.
“Adam Gase, an interception in a game you’re already losing, is barking at his quarterback. I’m watching him and he’s the – he and Matt Patricia in Detroit by the way. It’s not an intelligence thing, they’re both bright guys,” Cowherd said. “They’re bad optically.”
Dickerson did not mention Gase or Patricia by name in his response but talked about the difference between top coaches and their relatability and coaches who don’t resonate or connect with their locker room.
“I think some people are not good with people, they’re not people person. They’re good at what they do, they’re smart,” Dickerson said. “But they’re not good at relating to other guys, the guys.”
Earlier this year, Jets owner Christopher Johnson said the Gase would be retained for 2020, despite a rocky season for the team. Johnson noted that one major reason for retaining Gase, who is in his first-year with the Jets, was the relationship between the head coach and Darnold.
