After spending a couple of weeks getting to know the press, it's time for new Jets Head Coach Adam Gase to get to work. The task at hand is to rebuild the New York Jets football team back into a playoff contender. Times have been lean, leaving Jets fans, ownership and even the gambling community wanting for something significantly better. Apparently, five wins or less over the last three years doesn't sit well with the people who remember better times.
As Miami's Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, Gase became quite familiar with the Jets' defensive unit. It's clear he feels quite comfortable turning that unit over to new Jets Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams. With six prior stints as a DC in the NFL, the Jets defense is in good hands. In order to make the Jets relevant again, something has to give on offense. During the 2018 football season, an erratic offense put sports bettors to the challenge. Going forward, bettors will have to see an indication of better things to come before they will risk their DraftKings promo code on a Jets game.
With free agency and the draft lurking in the next couple of months, Gase will have to challenge his staff to quickly identify who gets to stay and which players might be expendable. At this point, it's safe to say the only player who is untouchable would be 2nd year QB Sam Darnold.
Coming off a promising rookie season, the rebuilding process for the offense and perhaps the entire team is going to center around Darnold. With only two years of college ball at USC, Sam would normally be preparing for his senior year and a chance to play in the Rose Bowl. Instead, he will be heading into his second pro season, coming off a rookie season that saw him pass for 2,865 yards and 17 TDs. While those numbers don't jump off the page, it's noteworthy Darnold showed dramatic progress as the season went on. With any kind of a supporting cast, the numbers would have been much stronger.
None of this is lost on Coach Gase. In conversations with the blossoming QB prior to being hired, Coach Gase came away with an interesting perspective. As he explained to the press, "He (Darnold) wants to see how far he can push himself, which that's one of those things as a coach you’re excited to be a part of. That's what we're really going to have to figure out as we go through this spring, that's really where you want to test the limits and see how far you can actually push each other."
With Darnold ready to start firing on all cylinders, it's up to Gase and management to give him the tools to be successful. That means filling holes on an offensive unit that is wanting for star material. In the draft and free agent market, look for the Jets to focus on finding a quality wideout and an explosive running back who has the ability to occupy defenses and take the pressure off a QB, who seems destined for something big.
It's a big hill to climb, but the Gase era has begun.