New York Jets' Adam Gase on Being on the Hot Seat: 'That Something I Can't Worry About'
A Sunday report that his job is on the line may not trouble Adam Gase but the New York Jets head coach didn’t help his case for job security in Week 3. The Jets got pushed around and dominated in a 36-7 loss at the Indianapolis Colts.
On Sunday morning, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Jets management is closely watching Gase and that his job could be on the line. Gase did nothing to dispel any of that talk in a second-straight blowout loss for the now 0-3 Jets.
“I mean, I’m going to do what I always do, come back to work tomorrow and try to get things fixed,” Gase said on Sunday following the game.
“That’s something I can’t worry about; I got to focus on getting our guys ready.”
He may not have much time to change the perception that the Jets are headed in the wrong direction. They play on Thursday night against the Denver Broncos and another loss could doom his stay in New York.
Last year after one win in their first eight games in Gase’s first season with the organization, the Jets rebounded to finish 7-9. Now winless in their first three games, the direction of the team is clearly trending downwards.
Should the Jets go through a fourth straight loss on Thursday night, it would be hard to justify keeping Gase in charge of the team during yet another rebuild.
The offense was again poor as quarterback Sam Darnold threw three interceptions. The lack of development from Darnold is troubling as Gase was brought in to mentor and groom the young quarterback after working with the likes of Peyton Manning and Jay Cutler.
So far this year, there has been little to say that Gase has improved Darnold, although it should be noted that all three starting wide receivers were missing on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Two weeks ago, Jets CEO Christopher Johnson called Gase a “brilliant offensive mind.” That has yet to be evidenced through three tough Jets losses.
Jets guard offensive lineman Greg Van Roten, signed in free agency from the Carolina Panthers this offseason, defended Gase against the report that he could be on his way out of New York.
“I believe in Adam, I’m happy to be here. I’ve heard nothing but good things before I got here. I’ve been around him a long time the last couple of months. I’m excited to play for him, Van Roten sad.
“To the fans that are calling for his head, I never really understand that. I was on a team last year we fired our coach. It’s not like we started winning games, you go further in the tank. I’m not really sure what that solves. But I get the frustration, I understand that. No one outside our facility believes in us right now, that’s just kind of how things are going. We need to rally together, as a team, and get things on track.”
The message from the first three games for the Jets, who do have an inordinate number of injuries on their roster, is that the team isn’t progressing. The talk during training camp from Gase was that his team was ready to surprise the league and build on last year’s strong finish.
Now in the midst of the season of ghosts and goblins, the Jets have been all trick and no treat for their fans.
“You don’t want to go out there and get your ass kicked. It’s frustrating I’m frustrated – I’m frustrated for our guys, coaches,” Gase said. “We’re the only ones that can fix it – we have to do it. We have to figure out a way to clean-up all the things that aren’t going right for us.”
