Yahoo Finance Jets GM says Adam Gase, Sam Darnold are still the future of the 0-8 Jets
Things aren’t looking very in New York Jets land these days.
The team is 0-8. Its offense is the worst in the league by total yards. Its defense is in the bottom five. Its former third overall pick is performing like one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league. It couldn’t even cover a three-touchdown spread. And the clear favorite for the top spot in next year’s draft is suddenly waffling on leaving school.
It all adds up to a “burn it all down” kind of season for the Jets, which you think would start by getting rid of the coach that oversaw the descent that led to this situation.
And yet, Jets head coach Adam Gase remains employed, and Jets general manager Joe Douglas even seemed to give him and quarterback Sam Darnold a vote of confidence on Tuesday.
Jets GM: Adam Gase is ‘part of the solution’
Specifically Douglas said Darnold is “our quarterback of the future,” and said Gase will be “part of the solution" for the Jets, per SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano.
Douglas also seemed to somewhat deflect blame for Gase, saying the Jets’ struggles don’t all originate from the coach:
"This is not all on Adam. I have to do a better job of surrounding him with better players and better weapons. We’re in this together. I’m thinking of everything I can do to try to help Adam. The goal is to get this fixed together."
Obviously, that’s not legally binding. If ownership makes it clear to Douglas that Gase has to go, it’s hard to see the GM sticking by a head coach he had no part in hiring. If Trevor Lawrence decides to enter the draft and is fine joining the Jets, it’s hard to see the team sticking with Darnold.
However, it’s wild that in a year in which two head coaches have already been fired, the coach of the clear worst team in the league seems on track to finish the season.
The case for firing Gase is clear. The team has not won under him; Darnold has not developed into the kind of passer the Jets wanted despite Gase’s reputation as a QB guru (deserved or not); he is no longer working under a front office that hired him; player after player (Ryan Tannehill, Robby Anderson, Kenyan Drake, DeVante Parker, etc.) has started thriving the second they escape Gase, and the Jets’ biggest offensive weapon acquisition, Le’Veon Bell, was a spectacular failure, partially due to clashes with Gase.
However Douglas and the Jets plan to move forward from a lost season, it’s hard to see Gase being the right choice for to handle the future.
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