WATCH: New York Jets coach Adam Gase exposed since leaving Denver Broncos
The offense for the New York Jets (0-3) has been downright putrid under Adam Gase through the first three weeks of the 2019 season, having scored just 11 points through the team’s first three contest.
To his credit, though, New York’s head coach has shouldered a lot of the blame for his team’s slow start.
“I look at it like this: we didn’t coach well enough, we didn’t play well enough, we didn’t execute well enough,” Gase said following Gang Green’s loss to the New England Patriots. “That’s what happens when you have 105 yards of total offense. We didn’t do a good enough job as a group. We had way too many mental errors from top to bottom. We had bad play calls. We had bad scheme. Our game plan wasn’t good enough compared to what they had.”
Gase has had a reputation as one of football’s best offensive minds during his tenure in the NFL and has proved he deserves the recognition on occasion.
However, a quick glance at Adam Gase’s coaching history may indicate otherwise.
At just 35 years old, Gase took over as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 2013 after his predecessor, Mike McCoy, left the team to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers. While unproven, the former’s first season calling plays was nothing short of historic and put him on the map.
Gase had a record-breaking offense during the 2013 season with Peyton Manning as his quarterback, finishing the year first in total offense (457.3 yards per game) while setting several single-season NFL records, including points scored (606) and total touchdowns (76).
The Broncos would ultimately fall short of a Super Bowl title in humiliating fashion that year, however, with Gase’s offense scoring just eight points in a 43-8 blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Gase was clearly out-coached in the Super Bowl, but he followed up his 2013 historic season with another strong year in 2014, as his offense finishing fourth in total yards (6,446) and second in scoring offense (432 points).
Gase would leave Denver after the season and take the same role with the Chicago Bears the following year. After leaving Denver (and Manning in the process), Gase actually began to exhibit signs that his reputation as an “offensive genius” wasn’t entirely warranted.
Despite having dynamic players like Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffrey at his disposal in Chicago, Gase was unable to replicate the offensive success he had with the Broncos, finishing the year 21st in total yards and 23rd in scoring offense.
Yet, the Miami Dolphins hired him as their head coach the following season - likely due to his work in Denver - and things didn’t get any better. Below is a table illustrating Gase’s offensive ranks in his three years coaching the Dolphins. Per-game rankings are noted in parentheses.
| Season | Total Yards<br> | Total Points<br> | Yardage Differential<br> |
|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 5,324 (24) | 363 (17) | -798 (29) |
2017 | 4,923 (25) | 281 (28) | -448 (25) |
2018 | 4,638 (31) | 319 (26) | -1,619 (30) |
It’s hard to believe that Gase never finished better than 24th in total offense and 17th in scoring offense in Miami and in his defense, having Ryan Tannehill under center the entire time wasn’t helping things.
However, it’s not like he didn’t have much to work with. At one point or another, Gase had players like Jarvis Landry, Jay Ajayi and Kenny Stills at his disposal and somehow, he still wasn’t able to finish a season with a top-10 offense.
Additionally, the fact that other great offensive minds have done a lot more with less pokes a few holes in Gase’s perceived reputation.
Todd Haley had a top-15 scoring offense with Matt Cassel under center, for example, and Andy Reid had three top-10 scoring offenses with Alex Smith as his quarterback. The pair also made one and three Pro Bowl appearances, respectively, with their coaches calling the shots.
There’s a strong argument to be made that Gase’s reputation was a product of Peyton Manning’s success in Denver, but there’s still time for New York’s head coach to prove otherwise. If he can finally get this New York offense to click with Sam Darnold back under center, Gase just may prove that he’s worth the hype that surrounds him.
