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Phoenix – Let me say this . . .
. . . About Adam Gase.
I have no idea how it’s going to work out with the Jets. I don’t have a crystal ball.
But I will say this getting to observe him so far on a limited basis, and the owner’s meetings, and talking to people – he’s really, really smart.
While I didn’t spend a ton of time at his table during the one-hour breakfast at the owner’s meeting in Phoenix, I did pop in and out.
I’ve been around a lot of coaches over the years – some smart, others not as smart.
This cat is really smart.
I don’t think any of his problems in Miami had to do with his football intellect or strategy.
This guy had the Dolphins in playoff contention late into last season with a bad team.
The really smart coaches can “manufacture” wins. Bill O’Brien is like that. I feel like Gase is one of those guys.
Gase manufactured two wins over the Jets last year, 20-12 and 13-7.
He manufactured a win over the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots last year, 34-33.
His problems in Miami had to do more with personality clashes than football IQ.
He basically got fired for telling off the owner on a private plane after the season.
A source at the owner’s meeting told me, Gase basically told Stephen Ross, and I’m paraphrasing, that he’s an absentee owner who doesn’t pay enough attention to his organization.
Hey, not a good move for job security, but it shows you how blunt Gase is, and what a straight-shooter he can be. And man do the Jets need a blunt, straight-shooter as a head coach. If a player isn’t getting the job done, Gase will either say that, or his actions will say that, by benching the player. The last eight years there were some playing people pretend when it came to the evaluation of some players on the roster. You can’t win that way. Either a guy can do it, or he can’t. You can’t put lipstick on it and make it look better.
Just hearing Gase talking about football (what I could hear – the acoustics were bad and Gase kind of speaks softly. I’m sure the live stream was fine because he there was on a mic, but it was not a mic that amplified in the room, just to the cameras).
But you hear (or read his quotes) when he talk football philosophy, you can tell this is a really smart cat.
I have said it before, I will say it again, I don’t see the Jets being out-schemed very often moving forward with three-headed monster of Gase (offense), Gregg Williams (defense) and Brant Boyer (special teams).
The biggest thing that has to happen for Gase to take the next step as a coach coming out of Miami, is for him to be on the same page at all times with his GM – no candy-coating anything – total blunt force trauma between the two at all times, and no decision should be made worrying about draft or free agent records.
It was pretty clear that Gase and Mike Tannenbaum were often not on the same page, and this hurt the Dolphins.
So far, it looks like Gase and Maccagnan are working well together (of course this could change), and have a plan, and are on the same page.
If these two can work well together, and consistently construct strong rosters, I don’t think the X’s and O’s part will be a problem.
Because this is clearly a really smart football dude.
March 27, 2019
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