Adam Gase fired
The New York Jets weren’t expected to do a whole lot this season, given they are still in rebuilding mode. However, they ended the 2020 NFL season with just two wins that came late in the season. Following their last game of the season against the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon, the Jets announced that they have decided to part ways with their head coach Adam Gase.
“This evening, I informed Adam Gase he will no longer serve as the Head Coach of the Jets,” said New York chairman and CEO Chris Johnson on Sunday evening in a team statement.
Gase had been with the Jets for two seasons after being hired in January, 2019. He went 7-9 in his first year with the club but regressed to a 2-14 record in his second season with New York. Gase had spent the previous three years with the Miami Dolphins, but had just one winning season during his time in Florida.
“During his time here, I had the pleasure to get to know Adam and his wonderful family and wish them nothing but the best moving forward,” the statement continued. ”While my sincere intentions are to have stability in our organization – especially in our leadership positions – it is clear the best decision for the Jets is to move in a different direction. We knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done when Adam joined us in 2019. Our strong finish last year was encouraging, but unfortunately, we did not sustain that positive momentum or see the progress we all expected this season.”
The Jets have now missed out on the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons, last qualifying in 2010 when they ultimately lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game. They have finished dead last in the AFC for five of the past seven seasons and fans are growing increasingly impatient.
The Jets will have the opportunity to bolster their roster during the offseason though and will be selected second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft as a result of their poor record.
“To our fans, it is obvious we have not been good enough,” Johnson continued. “We are committed to building a strong organization, on and off the field, and will continue to provide the necessary resources to field a team that you can be proud of.”
It remains to be seen who New York will replace Gase with, but it is believed that the team will conduct an expansive search to ensure they find the right guy. The priority will be developing a star quarterback for the future.
The Jets selected Sam Darnold with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he has failed to live up the hype. It’ll be interesting to see whether Darnold gets another chance to start in New York under a new head coach or whether the club will look to ship him out and draft a new quarterback. Either way, the Jets and their fans have a long offseason ahead of them.
