New York Jets: Adam Gase should already be on the hot seat

New York Jets first-year head coach Adam Gase should already find himself on the hot seat after an 0-3 start to his very first season with Gang Green.

The New York Jets have looked lifeless, hopeless, and downright abysmal through the first three weeks of the season. A once-promising season has swiftly gone downhill and the Jets now sit at 0-3 heading into their bye week in Adam Gase’s first season with the team.

It’s easy to recount where things have gone wrong, however.

The Jets have started a different quarterback in each game following Sam Darnold‘s bout with mononucleosis and Trevor Siemian‘s season-ending ankle injury. The offensive line has been worse than anyone could have imagined.

And while the defense is still solid, there are a few glaring holes — mainly at cornerback — that have held the team back. Not to mention a seemingly endless amount of injuries unrelated to the quarterback position.

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But despite all of these hardships, the Jets haven’t just been beaten in the past two weeks. They haven’t just been outmatched by superior teams. And they haven’t even been solely outplayed.

Rather, many of the Jets failures boil down to one man: Adam Gase.

Gase’s first three weeks with the Jets have gone about as poorly as anyone could have imagined. The Jets sit at 0-3 and haven’t shown any signs of life since Week 1. And acting as though Week 1 was a success is revisionist history.

Even with a somewhat-healthy Darnold, Gase’s offense managed just 223 yards and eight points. The team would then subsequently blow a 16-point second-half lead due to the offense’s inability to move the ball downfield.

Yes, it could be excused as it was against a dominant Buffalo Bills defense. But that’s just the problem. Through three weeks, Gase has been handed excuse after excuse — some of it warranted.

But excuses can only account for so much at the end of the day. They cannot account for a misuse of talent, a lack of originality, and a predictable gameplan.

Gase’s offense is hindered strongly by a poor offensive line and a weak set of playmakers. But other teams manage to at least look like legitimate NFL franchises when their starters go down.

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This is football, injuries will and do happen. But coaches must be able to adapt to their new personnel and Gase has proven incapable so far.

Take this past week in New England for example. Luke Falk excelled at Washington State as a downfield, vertical passer. Yet despite this, Gase stuck with his Week 1 & 2 gameplans opting for shallow patterns and screen passes.

It was this conservative, almost scared approach that hurt the Jets offense more this week than any injury could have.

Look around the league. John Harbough, Greg Roman, and the Baltimore Ravens have managed to tailor their offense to suit young quarterback Lamar Jackson‘s strengths. The same could be said for Sean McDermott and Brian Daboll working with Josh Allen.

And to prove that this can be changed on a whim, look at what the Pittsburgh Steelers did this week with Mason Rudolph or what the Carolina Panthers did with Kyle Allen.

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Heck, even Falk’s fellow Washington State product Gardner Minshew has stepped in and done a phenomenal job in Jacksonville. It’s possible to remain competitive with young, backup quarterbacks.

This isn’t to blame the Jets lack of success entirely on Adam Gase. But it is to say that he certainly hasn’t gotten the most out of his talent so far — not even close.

And the team’s severe lack of energy and their apparent apathy this past Sunday is worrisome given that it’s only Week 3.

Who knows what will happen once the Jets return from their bye week. Perhaps Darnold’s hopeful return — among others — will reinvigorate a team desperately in need of some spark of energy.

But if we’re basing expectations off of prior results, it’s hard to have any sort of optimism.