Adam Gase appears to be on the hot seat after the New York Jets lost to the tanking Miami Dolphins on Sunday, with signs growing that the first-year head coach’s days could already be numbered.
The 1-7 Jets hit a new low on Sunday when Gase lost to his former team, a 26-18 defeat to the now formerly winless Miami Dolphins. While the Jets made a series of acquisitions going into this season hoping to be a playoff contender, the Dolphins are making no efforts to hide that they are tanking. The Dolphins traded away a number of players ahead of the trade deadline to build up on draft capital, and already benched second-year quarterback Josh Rosen in favor of journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick.
That makes Sunday’s loss especially biting, and speculation grew immediately that Gase’s job could be in danger. ESPN reporter Rich Cimini reported on Twitter that Jets CEO Christopher Johnson, who just a few months ago hired Gase, was outside the entrance to the Jets locker room looking visibly angry after the loss. Another ominous image during the game showed Gase sitting alone on the bench, which some took as a sign that the team was abandoning him.
As The Inquisitr noted earlier on Sunday, NFL Network host Mike Garafolo tweeted that there could be several first-year head coaches fired this year, and the report specifically mentioned Gase.
After the embarrassing loss to the Miami Dolphins, many more joined in on the speculation that Gase could soon be fired.
Adam Gase sitting all alone on the bench is, simply put, an incredible image #Jets pic.twitter.com/NLDSwjjVDt
— Conor Sheeran (@conor__sheeran) November 3, 2019
Freddie Kitchens and Adam Gase might get fired before the end of their first season.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) November 3, 2019
But amid the speculation that he could be fired, Gase is getting the backing of his Jets players. After the game, several players made it a point to publicly support their coach, including quarterback Sam Darnold, who said that Gase was one of the best coaches he had ever been around. Jamal Adams shared a similar sentiment, telling reporters after the game that the Jets still have their coach’s back.
“Coach Gase is one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around” – Sam Darnold pic.twitter.com/yvy4FoFPJU
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 3, 2019
There are no public signs from the New York Jets that Gase’s job could be in jeopardy, and some noted that the Jets might be more likely to cut the first-year coach some slack given the unpredictable bad fortune that has found the team.
Second-year quarterback Sam Darnold lost several games after coming down with mono earlier in the year, a string of games where the Jets offense struggled. Darnold has not returned to his full form since coming back, as mono can leave lingering effects.
