For better or worse, Christopher Johnson is hitching his wagon to Adam Gase.
The chairman and CEO stated Gase will remain the head coach in 2020 despite from fans and pundits alike calling for his firing.
“I want to assure you there will be no changes in coaches here,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “Adam has the trust of this team. He has the trust of Sam. He has the trust of (general manager) Joe (Douglas). He has my trust. He’s a good man. He’s a good coach.”
Johnson explained part of the reason for keeping Gase is continuity with Sam Darnold’s development. Johnson added that Gase’s first year can’t properly be evaluated due to a ridiculous amount of injuries to the team.
“Sam hasn’t been given the best opportunity to thrive,” Johnson said. “We’ve had so many moving parts on the offensive line that I think it has affected his ability to play as he would like. There’s a great deal of work to do. Everyone understands that. And we’re just getting started. But I feel really good about this team moving forward.”
It’s not surprising that Johnson isn’t planning on firing Gase after one season. While it would send a positive message to an angry and win-deprived fanbase, it could cripple the morale of a team that has yet to turn on Gase.
What is surprising, though, is how Johnson effectively gave a ringing endorsement of Gase despite the Jets’ 2-7 record and terrible statistical rankings. Even after a seven-point win over the equally-lowly Giants, the Jets rank 30th in points scored and 32nd in total yards. Even with a bevy of injuries, those numbers are atrocious; they’re nothing Johnson should be publicly praising.
It also sends a bad sign to Jets fans when you basically tell them you’re happy with the job Gase has done in 10 months. Objectively speaking, he’s been a terrible coach in the games he’s lost, and lucky in the games he’s won. He was pitched to fans as an offensive genius, but the Jets have only scored more than 20 points and put up more than 300 yards of offense twice all season. Darnold looks to have regressed and no player looks to have developed under Gase’s guidance. He even cost the Jets their starting inside linebacker by leaving Avery Williamson in a meaningless preseason game in which he tore his ACL.
It would have been easier for Johnson to take Le’Veon Bell’s approach and just continue preaching patience for the future of the team. Instead, Johnson is telling fans he believes Gase is that future, despite every indication that this won’t be the case.
“I understand it. I’m frustrated, too,” Johnson said when asked about fans’ frustrations. “Every player on this team hates to lose. … Losing is a whole new thing and it’s terrible and I want it to stay terrible. Who wants to get used to that? But I can assure you that this entire building is about getting this team to a better place.”
Almost three weeks ago Johnson was caught on camera criticizing the team before a loss to the Jaguars. The next week the Jets lost to the previously winless Dolphins. If Johnson wasn’t happy with the team before, what changed over the past few weeks for him to suddenly support his coach? The Giants win, though great for morale, wasn’t particularly impressive considering the defense blew a two-score lead and were a Jamal Adams fumble recovery for a touchdown away from losing.
This is less about Gase and more about a vote of confidence for the team moving forward. Though the Jets roster is bad and their season awful, there are still solid pieces surrounding Darnold. If players were also calling for Gase’s head, maybe Johnson would change his tune. But with players like Jamal Adams and center Jonotthan Harrison praising Johnson’s decision, firing Gase would decimate the morale of the team for the rest of the year and send the Jets into a bigger tailspin before moving back to square one this offseason.
“It shows [Johnson] has faith in coach Gase, like the rest of us do,” Harrison said. “It shows he sees the potential and he sees where this team is going. Instead of listening to the outside noise — Gase this, Gase that — he said, ‘I have total faith in coach Gase.'”
Adams, who at one point refused to talk to Gase and Douglas after trade rumors, also backed Gase: “That’s our head coach and that’s who we ride with.”
Johnson doesn’t have the best track record as an owner. His hands-on approach and seemingly genuine interest in player causes — a drastic contrast from his brother, Woody — made a strong first impression, but he’s 11-30 since taking over in 2017. He let Mike Maccagnan build the roster through the 2019 offseason and played a role in overpaying for free agents. Gase could be yet another mistake in the Christopher Johnson era, and that’s probably not something he’d like to admit after only 10 months.
“It’s said that you are what your record says you are, and that’s not very impressive,” Johnson said. “But looking forward, I think it’s going to be a good team. I have so much faith in Adam and Joe to put together a great future for us.”
We’ll see about that.