Jets fans can only laugh after Adam Gase is floated as Chargers' play-calling option

The days of New York Jets fans envying the Los Angeles Chargers are on hold unless Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert pull off arguably the greatest turnaround in NFL history.

Imagine telling someone in August that the 2-3 Jets would enter Week 6 with more wins than the 0-5 Chargers, who have looked outright miserable since their season-opening loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals. Herbert leads the league with seven interceptions, and Harbaugh’s club already has three one-score losses. 

This is typically when teams turn desperate, and questions are rapidly mounting about offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s job security. Only the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins have scored fewer points, which should be enough reason to find the nearest Chargers fan and wrap them in an incredibly tight hug. 

So what would happen if or when the Chargers fired McDaniel? Two words for you: Adam Gase.

“I know, people sort of roll their eyes, [but] he had, at some point, the highest-scoring offense in NFL history,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said on Wednesday. “Pretty good coach, so if they do end up making a move, that would be someone who could step in.”

Oh, he’s serious?

New York Jets fans should love the thought of Adam Gase potentially taking a bigger role with the Los Angeles Chargers

Rapoport added that the Chargers aren’t expected to make any significant changes yet, so the SoFi Stadium crowd will be spared seeing Gase call plays. Lucky them. Instead, he’ll keep working as their passing game analyst, which is going so well right now. 

Can we take a step back and acknowledge Rapoport’s comment that Gase had the “highest-scoring offense” in NFL history? The 2013 Denver Broncos didn’t score 606 points because of Gase, but because they had a healthy Peyton Manning and a loaded offensive core. Giving him credit was bad enough then, but are we really doing this in 2026? 

Let’s call things what they are: Gase rode Manning’s coattails to becoming the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator and the Dolphins’ head coach. Woody Johnson and Mike Maccagnan then decided he was worth hiring as their coach less than two weeks after Miami cut him loose — oh, and Maccagnan was fired shortly after the draft. Great job, all.

Just the thought of Gase being a playcaller in 2026 is reason enough to laugh, especially when he went five years without an NFL coaching position. But then you factor in the Chargers’ overall dysfunction, and it’s hard not to feel bad … until you remember they have an established head coach, a supposed franchise quarterback, and a rising star linebacker in Tuli Tuipulotu.

Oh, and the Jets play the Chargers in Week 11. If things are bad enough now, just imagine where they’ll be in a month.

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