Ralph Vacchiano: The inside story of the Jets' road from Todd Bowles to Adam Gase

Discussion in 'New York Jets' started by HomeoftheJets, Jan 15, 2019.

  1. HomeoftheJets

    HomeoftheJets Well-Known Member

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    SNY.com published a terrific article on how the Jets approached the coaching search. https://www.sny.tv/jets/news/the-in...-road-from-todd-bowles-to-adam-gase/302734906

    The inside story of the Jets' road from Todd Bowles to Adam Gase

    There was no reason to think Gase would even be available. So how did the Jets end up with him?

    By Ralph Vacchiano

    The Jets' long road from Todd Bowles to Adam Gase began in mid-November, long before either of them were fired from their old jobs. It started after a humiliating, 41-10 home loss by Bowles' Jets to the Buffalo Bills just before the bye week.

    The week off gave the entire organization a chance to reassess itself. And the consensus inside the building became that the Jets needed a change.

    What happened next was the beginning of what CEO Christopher Johnson later promised was an "extensive" search that over a two-month period included a look at Jim Harbaugh, a flirtation with Mike McCarthy, a push for Matt Rhule and a surprising inability to dismiss Todd Monken. When it was over, they ended up with a new head coach who wasn't on their original list because he was coaching a team in a playoff race with three weeks left in the regular season.

    There was no real reason to think Adam Gase would even be available back then. So how did the Jets end up introducing him as the 19th coach in franchise history on Monday?

    Through interviews with multiple NFL sources inside and outside the Jets organization, and some sources close to several of the eight candidates the Jets interviewed (and several more they considered), here's a look at the winding road of a search that took them from Bowles to Harbaugh to McCarthy to Rhule, and eventually to Adam Gase:

    In the beginning

    There had been a sense all season long, as SNY reported back in September, that Bowles' job wasn't safe this year despite the contract extension that took him through 2020. There were too many questions about his lack of discipline with players, his game-day coaching decisions, and his team's penchant for looking unprepared. The worries first resurfaced after a Sept. 20 loss in Cleveland when the Jets looked unprepared for rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield, who came in and rallied the Browns to victory.

    When they were blown out by Buffalo at home two months later, even though the Bills were starting a quarterback (Matt Barkley) they signed less than two weeks earlier, the Jets' decision-makers had seen enough. During the bye week they made the decision to begin researching candidates. Even Bowles knew what was coming, because right around then he began talking with his old boss, Bruce Arians, about possibly re-joining him as a defensive coordinator if Arians took another job (which he eventually did, as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

    At the time, one source said Johnson's first instinct was to make a splash with his hire, to bring in a coach that could re-energize the franchise and the fan base. The Jets knew they needed an offensive coach who could develop their young, franchise quarterback, Sam Darnold, and they preferred someone with experience.

    There weren't many coaches available who fit that description, though.

    Harbaugh, of course, was one and would have been an enormous splash. And though the Jets later denied their interest, multiple sources said they did at least do some background work on Harbaugh to see what it would take to lure him to New York. It's unclear how far those inquiries got, but the Jets apparently were left with the impression that either he wouldn't be a good fit (i.e. he'd want too much power or money) or he wasn't interested in leaving Michigan.

    So they concentrated most of their initial work on other college coaches and up-and-coming young assistants in the search for what everyone in the NFL wanted thanks to the success of the Los Angeles Rams -- the next Sean McVay.

    Enter Mike McCarthy

    Then, on Dec. 2, the Jets seemingly got a gift: The Packers fired Mike McCarthy with four weeks left in his 13th NFL season. He was everything the Jets were looking for in a new coach. He had an extensive offensive background, a history of success, a Super Bowl championship. He would come in with instant credibility with players and fans and, after his work with Aaron Rodgers, an obvious ability to develop Darnold.

    The Jets began asking around about McCarthy -- whom one source said was immediately at the top of Johnson's wish list -- but around the league there were concerns. McCarthy was known to be sensitive to criticism, and it showed many times during his years in small-market Green Bay with a relatively small media corps. Some wondered if he could handle New York, or if he'd even want to try. Others suggested McCarthy was strongly considering sitting out all of 2019 so he didn't have to uproot his family from Green Bay.

    McCarthy also had drawn some interest from the Browns and Cardinals, and some thought he'd prefer either of those two jobs. The Jets were planning to interview him regardless.

    The 'extensive' field

    The Jets announced the firing of Bowles a few hours after their 4-12 season ended with a 38-3 loss up in New England, but multiple sources said Bowles had been told officially of the decision weeks earlier. So he wasn't surprised, and the Jets were ready with their list of candidates. They began reaching out to and requesting permission to interview those coaches the next morning.

    The list initially was highlighted by McCarthy, who by then had signaled an interest to at least talk to the Jets. They also requested permission to talk with Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Cowboys defensive backs coach Kris Richard. They also had interest in Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur-- a McVay disciple who ended up as the new head coach of the Packers, though it's not clear if the Jets ever requested permission to interview him or if he simply declined.

    Also on the list was former Colts and Lions coach Jim Caldwell, who one source said was a "stealth" candidate at the time, but at 63 years old probably a little older than the Jets wanted. They also had identified at least three college coaches they wanted to talk to -- Baylor's Matt Rhule, USC offensive coordinator (and former Texas Tech coach) Kliff Kingsbury, and Iowa State's Matt Campbell who turned the Jets down.

    Then, on Monday morning, hours after the Jets made the Bowles firing official, the Dolphins fired the 40-year-old Gase -- and he immediately was added to the Jets' list. One source said he quickly vaulted to near the top because he was one of the few candidates with head coaching experience and an offensive background.

    The Final Four

    Knowing the Jets wanted experience and someone who could help Darnold, some of the coaches on the list may have been more about possible coordinator jobs, or just picking their brains about how to handle their young quarterback and the offense. Monken and Kingsbury seemed to fit that category as possible offensive coordinator candidates. Kingsbury in particular had a losing record as a college coach, but a track record of developing quarterbacks. The Jets were interested in hiring him in some capacity, but 24 hours after his interview he was hired by the Cardinals as their head coach -- the team he seemed to be destined to land with all along.

    Monken, meanwhile, seemed to really impress the Jets in his interview. If he wasn't a serious candidate for the head coach job from the beginning, he certainly was when he left. His energy, enthusiasm and offensive ideas were strong. His lack of experience remained a concern, but the Jets liked him enough that they pitched him to several other candidates as an offensive coordinator. It was clear they wanted to hire him for something if they could.

    Monken eventually did make a final four, which included McCarthy, Rhule and Gase -- another energetic, young coach who blew away the Jets in his interview. Which one was at the top of the heap in the final days depended on whom you asked and when.
     
  2. HomeoftheJets

    HomeoftheJets Well-Known Member

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    So what happened to McCarthy?

    The Jets were serious about McCarthy and he definitely appeared to be a favorite at one point. But his standing in the search seemed to wane after he finally came in for an interview. The interview wasn't bad, according to one source, but some issues came up. One was that McCarthy seemed to be uncomfortable with the Jets' power structure, possibly meaning he wanted more control over personnel.

    Another was that Jets GM Mike Maccagnan seemed to want a say in McCarthy's staff, and the former Packers coach wasn't comfortable with that at all. At least that was the take from McCarthy's side. The Jets strongly denied they were trying to have any influence over the hiring of any assistants on the staff of any of the candidates.

    "At no point did we say we were going to choose your guys or we don't like that guy or we like this guy, we're going to put him in there," Johnson said on Monday. "No, that never happened. I completely deny it."

    Regardless, when the interview was over, the Jets seemed to have the feeling that it wasn't going to work. Some felt McCarthy was more likely to sit out 2019 anyway. Soon after, McCarthy's camp leaked that the Jets job was the only one he was willing to consider -- a disingenuous statement at the time since he had already turned down an interview request from the Cardinals, and the Browns had settled on two other candidates. So the Jets were the only team interested in him at all.

    That leak prompted one league source to tell SNY that McCarthy had to know he had a good chance at the job, otherwise he just would've leaked that he was sitting out 2019 to save himself from embarrassment. But in hindsight, that leak may have been his last-ditch attempt to erase the perception in the Jets organization that he wasn't interested in their job.

    By then, the Jets weren't ruling McCarthy out, but their attention had turned elsewhere. And McCarthy had to know it, since he shares an agent with another top candidate -- Matt Rhule.

    So what happened with Rhule?

    Though it's not clear who liked whom in the Jets' organization during the search, some outside believe that Rhule -- a former Giants assistant (for one season) who turned around college programs at Temple and Baylor -- had become Maccagnan's favorite. The Jets had extensive talks with him, but they had concerns over his lack of NFL experience.

    In those discussions with Rhule, the Jets made it clear that if they were to hire him they wanted to make sure he had an experienced NFL staff. They even pitched the idea of Monken to him as his offensive coordinator. They discussed several other possible assistants. It's not clear if the Jets told him whom he should hire -- remember, Johnson denied the Jets would have dictated the staff of any candidates -- but Rhule was left with the impression that they at least wanted to guide him in the process.

    And Rhule would have none of that.

    "I'm never going to be in an arranged marriage," he later told a Waco, Texas radio station. "I'm never going to subcontract jobs to the offense and defense. I want to hire people that believe in what I believe, that are going to do things our way."

    That's advice that, according to one source, he got from his mentor -- Bill Parcells.

    Hello, this is Peyton speaking

    When Rhule was clearly out of the picture -- for whatever reason -- the Jets weren't comfortable enough with Monken as head coach, so that seemingly left them with McCarthy and Gase. Almost as soon as Rhule pulled out, though, they offered Gase the job.

    There are a lot of reasons why Gase had leaped over McCarthy on their list. He's 15 years younger than McCarthy, and the Jets wanted someone who might be able to relate better to Darnold, who could grow with him over the years. His interview was simply better and more energetic and they were confident he wanted the job. They also remembered that three years earlier, Gase was the hot, young, offensive assistant that everybody wanted. Yes, he went 23-25 in three years with the Miami Dolphins, but he was coaching without his franchise quarterback exactly half the time.

    And then there was the phone call that Johnson got from Peyton Manning, who thrived under Gase's direction in Denver when Gase was the Broncos quarterbacks coach (2012) and offensive coordinator (2013-14). Manning has long been an advocate for Gase. He pitched him to Dolphins ownership in 2016, and came in like Mariano Rivera to close the deal with the Jets, too.

    Whether or not that call put Gase over the top, only Johnson knows for sure. But it's simply hard to ignore when one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time swears that Gase is the right guy to turn the Jets' franchise quarterback into the superstar everyone thinks he will be.

    The Gase file

    In the end, Johnson said it was "an easy choice" to hire Gase for a variety of reasons. He checked all the boxes the Jets were looking for, from his previous experience, to his offensive mind, to his work with quarterbacks, to being the disciplinarian the Jets believe their locker room needs. Also, as Johnson said, "Adam's vision synced well" with the vision of Johnson and Maccagnan.

    And they loved that he was still a young coach with a grip on the modern NFL.

    "He is intelligent, forward thinking, aggressive," Johnson said. "To paraphrase Wayne Gretzky, he's coaching to where football is going. That really appealed to me."

    That sounds a little like Johnson thinks Gase represents the future, while McCarthy is more about the past -- an interpretation that one source said isn't unfair even Johnson didn't go quite that far.

    "McCarthy is terrific, absolutely," Johnson said. "I was really impressed by him. Obviously he had this incredible run with two Hall of Fame quarterbacks and with this amazing franchise in Green Bay.

    "I'm just really convinced that (Gase) is the man. It's not that there was anything wrong with McCarthy or any of the other guys. They were fantastic.

    "But Adam took it to a new level."
     
  3. NYJetsO12

    NYJetsO12 Well-Known Member

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    This all sounds semi plausible..Gase is experienced young and energetic Offense minded guy

    Still don't like the idea they were ordering up a staff even though CJ denies..didn't Rhule say the same thing??

    The goo goo eyes and personality issues are just the X factor

    Now with his Defensive beast Williams I got fingers and toes crossed
     
    #3 NYJetsO12, Jan 15, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2019
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  4. Pepsiguy5

    Pepsiguy5 Well-Known Member

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    I don't really care much one way or another. And I'm actually cautiously optimistic with how this has all panned out.

    But my gut instinct here is that McCarthy just plain blew it looking at it from his own career. I think he might have thought he was a little bit bigger operator than he really is and wouldn't be surprised if he never is a head coach in the NFL again. And hopefully his fumble ends up being to the Jets benefit. I think I'm just as happy taking what we got and let McCarthy watch Sam Darnold on TV.
     
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  5. WarriorRB28

    WarriorRB28 Well-Known Member

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    In hindsight Gase is a better fit for the Jets & Darnold than even Jim Harbaugh would've been. Jim Harbaugh isn't married to just one QB know what I mean?

    Gase is the best thing that could've happened to Darnold.

    It ALL depends on Darnold.

    If he's the real deal Miami will regret the day they allowed Gase to come to the Jets much like we've regretted allowing Belichick to go to New England.

    If Darnold turns out to be another Sanchez he lets them off the hook.
     
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  6. Ralebird

    Ralebird Well-Known Member

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    Gase may very well be what's best for Darnold but, for that reason, I don't believe he's what's best for the New York Jets. I believe that any team needs a strong guy at the helm and it appears that Gase is already distancing himself from that role in favor of focusing his energies on one guy. The buck needs to stop at Gase's door.

    Some of what he has said about finding a DC leads me to believe he really wants nothing to do with that side of the ball. I expect more from a head coach. I also think his idea of getting away from a standard head coach, OC and QB coach system in favor of minimizing input to Darnold smells of ego and arrogance. He should be too busy running the entire team to plan to devote that much time to a single guy, even if that guy might be the most important player in decades.

    This team has a lot of needs that all must be addressed directly, not as an afterthought to one guy. For now all we have to go on is a few words that may not be sending a complete message. I shall remain cautiously optimistic but we need to see if Gase is the real deal as well as Darnold.
     
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  7. Pepsiguy5

    Pepsiguy5 Well-Known Member

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    You know a lot of stuff in life is surprisingly simple.

    Did we feel more optimistic and confident in our coaches and QB going into 2019 or did we feel more optimistic and confident going into 2018?

    That's right.... and that means we're going in the right direction. Even if it somehow manages to go down in a Jets-esque fireball there is at least legit reason for hope right now. Darnold may not be a full jedi yet but he's officially at least training with Yoda. And Gase…. combined with Williams. Theres a lot more legit hope here than there was with Bowles, Rogers, and our hermit turned OC after his nature walk was done.
     
  8. Quinnenthebeast

    Quinnenthebeast Well-Known Member

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    I have come to realize that coaches are as hard to evaluate as draft picks, and may even harder. From what it sounds like, the Jets tried to check all the boxes. Yet even with the right qualifications it still might not work out. While Gase wasn’t my first choice, I certainly feel better about our situation than with Bowles. Gase definitely has a better record in close games than Bowles does. Just have to hope it works out.
     
  9. Aewhistory

    Aewhistory Well-Known Member

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    The Jets should’ve hired my Mom. Years ago she mastered the game and explained it to me:

    “I get this game. When you get the ball go forward; do NOT go backward. When you don’t have the ball try to make sure the other team doesn’t go forward.”
    -my mom, master NFL mind

    Too bad so many Jets coaches haven’t mastered this simple plan....
     
  10. The Dark Knight

    The Dark Knight Well-Known Member

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    Great read. Thanks for posting, @HomeoftheJets! That was my one issue with people wanting certain candidates. We were not in the interviews or a part of the process. I wanted the best guy for Sam. I wanted the best guy in the interview process who Chris and Mike felt was best for the Jets. That is what matters. Not public perception. They felt that was Adam Gase. Now we hope that they made the right decision. I feel more comfortable with it each day. I believe most Jets fans will. As @Cman60 said in another thread: the Jets need to win. That is how fans will truly get behind Gase.
     
  11. CBG

    CBG Well-Known Member

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    TDK,,I wanted a guy for Darnold but I also wanted a guy that could coach all 3 phases of the team, as I am sick of coaches that only focus on one thing and even then it seems they can't even do that one aspect correctly,,,,time will tell
     
  12. Jersey Joe 67

    Jersey Joe 67 Well-Known Member

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    I heard Gase on Francessa yesterday and I got a completely different feel for the guy... he kinda talked me off the ledge with this hire.

    He really explained himself, his philosophy... you can tell the guy is very confident just by the way he talked about possibly hiring Gregg Williams , that it wouldn't intimidate him.
    I also liked that he said what he learned from Miami is to take time hiring staff ... not just bringing in guys that he knows or that are his buddies (Hoping no Loggains).

    Seems very passionate about the game, calling the plays...he's all business.
     
    #12 Jersey Joe 67, Jan 16, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2019
  13. Jeti

    Jeti Well-Known Member

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    Not many coaches are out there like that.

    Gase is smart enough to realize his strengths and hired the right guy to lead the defense and kept our special teams coach who was probably the best in football last year.
     
  14. stinkyB

    stinkyB 2009 Best Avatar Award Winner

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    Thanks. Hopefully this all actually pans out
     
  15. Attackett

    Attackett Well-Known Member

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    I heard that interview as well, he was extremely impressive.

    My favorite thing he said was when Mike tried to get him to say what kind of offense he wants, his answer was that he wants whatever offense best suits his personnel.

    In the end it doesn’t matter what he says, the proof will be in the pudding as they say. His first move as HC gets an A+, a couple more A+s we’ll be on to something.
     
  16. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    Interesting article, thanks for posting it; but does anyone believe for one second that the Jets actually spoke to Jim Harbaugh? Uh, I don't. Maccagnan would have been directly setting himself up to be demoted and later possibly canned. I don't buy it at all. I would love a reporter to ask Jim Harbaugh if the Jets made a phone call and laugh like hell to hear him say no.
     
    #16 jetophile, Jan 16, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2019
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  17. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    Great post. Deep down I knew 2018 was going to be garbage (even though I predicted 7-9, haha), but after the Jets started flailing aimlessly for good, I completely turned my focus to Darnold alone and stopped caring about the rest.

    Aside from the completely surprising Boyer/STs 180 - which is big - there really wasn't much to get behind. I have to.agree that yes, after seeing/listening to the Michael Kay interview that my anxiety level about the hire is a bit better. One horse tranquilizer as opposed to a bottle.

    So yes, I do, oddly.enough, with the addition of Williams, feel better going into 2019 as of this minute; but then again I'm also a fckn idiot. Laughed like hell about the nature walk. I still don't know why they haven't kicked Bates in his ass yet. Obviously as soon as they hire a new OC he's definitely gone, but what are they waiting for? Is it really necessary to keep him on the payroll at this point? He's toast. I hope (starts furiously chewing fingernails).
     
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  18. Catfish Billy

    Catfish Billy Well-Known Member

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  19. macbk

    macbk Well-Known Member

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    The fact that Bowles knew for six weeks he was a goner come seasons end.....
     
  20. championjets69

    championjets69 2008/2009 TGG Darksider Award Winner

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    If Gase lacks the brain power to compete with Belly he to will have happen to him what has happened to every coach since we have since Ewbank. JMHO:mad:
     

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