Regional Sports

Nothing wrong with Jets hiring Gase

It did not matter who the Jets were hiring as their 17th head coach in franchise history. There would be faction of Jets fans who would complain about the hire. That’s the way it goes when the Johnson family has hired five coaches under their stewardship just to fire them in the end. They were not getting the benefit of the doubt.

It didn’t come as any surprise Jets fans are crying foul about the hiring of Adam Gase after being fired as the Miami Dolphins head coach. There were some that wanted former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, Baylor coach Matt Rhule or former Texas Tech coach turned Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury to coach the Jets. The former Dolphins head coach didn’t turn out to be their choice.

It’s strange the Jets fans wanted a college head coach who had no NFL coaching experience. They wanted their next Rams head coach Sean McVay in either Rhule for being exuberant and dynamic or Kingsbury for turning quarterback Patrick Mahomes into a success at Texas Tech.

It’s understandable why the Joe Benignos of the world wanted McCarthy since he was a proven head coach that won a Super Bowl. He brings credibility for the way he organizes a good coaching staff and leading his players.

Since Gase is neither of those things, it’s open season for him and the Jets. That’s not fair.

Yes, Gase’s 23-25 regular season record is underwhelming. Yes, he does not have that rah-rah attitude that is all the rage now in the NFL. So what? The Jets hired a proven coach that had experience, not to mention he runs a good offense from his days as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears. Those two attributes should have been the prerequisite for a candidate to be qualified to be the next Jets coach. Plus, they have a coach who will behave like an adult.

For those that complain about his record, remember this: Gase maximized the most out of a marginal Dolphins roster. There’s nothing he can do if Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill gets hurt yearly, and there’s nothing he can do if his quarterback stinks. If anything, it’s a miracle he is two games below .500 as coach with this roster. It’s hard to believe Bill Belichick or anyone else would have done better.

If he can do decent with the Dolphins, imagine what he can do with a competent quarterback in Sam Darnold. This is why he deserves a fair shake. It’s why he is as good as it gets.

Face it. When John Harbaugh was retained by the Baltimore Ravens, there were not many good candidates out there besides Gase and McCarthy. It was a surprise Bruce Arians ended his retirement and went back to work as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he was never going to replace Todd Bowles, who he coached at Temple and hired as the Cardinals defensive coordinator.

Hiring Gase was the best the Jets could do.They could have done much worse in that regard.

We really don’t know what the new Jets head coach can do. He only coached three years as the Dolphins head coach, so it’s hard to judge.

Still, Gase is interesting because he has the potential to be good. He can learn and apply from his experience as a head coach in his first crack of it. He is still young. Remember Belichick wasn’t a success when he was the Browns head coach, and he turned out be okay with the Patriots, right?

Of course, Gase has things he needs to work on. He must have a better working relationship with the players. He has to work well with Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan. All of it can be improved on by experience.

The roster will be better than what Gase had in Miami. The Jets will spend money to get a player like Le’Veon Bell, Jadeveon Clowney or Devin Funchess, so he has a chance to do well.

Ultimately, it’s going to come down to Maccagnan finding talent for Gase to succeed. Also, Gase needs to hire a good staff that can help him do well.

Darnold gives Gase a chance to do well. He has the arm, smarts and leadership to be great, so the new Jets head coach don’t have to invest his time developing his quarterback. The Jets quarterback does things that can’t be taught whether it’s improvising on plays or finding a way to go deep. He is why the Dolphins head coach was interested in the job in the first place.

Quarterbacks that Gase worked with have always been complementary to him, so there’s no reason to think Darnold would have a problem with him. The relationship of head coach and quarterback is so crucial for a team’s success, and reports are circulating that the new Jets head coach and the Jets quarterback hit it of well.

If Darnold is all in on Gase, this hire can work.

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