New York Jets: Diving into Jeremy Bates’ credentials to work with Sam Darnold

Offensive Coordinator Jeremy Bates (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Offensive Coordinator Jeremy Bates (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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We take a deeper look into Jeremy Bates and his credentials as the New York Jets quarterback guru, ready to take Sam  Darnold where he wants to go.

Jeremy Bates. The New York Jets are putting a lot on their new offensive coordinator. As their offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, one could argue that the development of Sam Darnold sits squarely on Bates’ shoulders. That is a lot to put on one assistant coach. Add the fact that is has been about 1,000 years since the Jets have had a franchise quarterback (at least it feels that way), the pressure is even higher.

When Bates was brought into town, he was brought here to be the quarterback whisperer. It didn’t work out with Christian Hackenberg, but he had a questionable amount of talent so he gets a pass. Now Bates gets to show what he is made of by bringing Sam Darnold along and getting him ready to play and excel at the NFL level.

Today we are going to take a deeper dive into Bates’ resume. Does he have quarterback guru credentials? Does Bates have the ability to bring Darnold where he needs to go? As we look into his past we see that Bates absolutely is the right guy for the job.

Bates got his start as a coach with the Buccaneers in 2002 as an Offensive Quality Control coach. That year the Bucs scored a point more per game than the previous season and brought home their only Super Bowl title. Brad Johnson posted his career best passer rating that season (92.9). In 2004 he was promoted to Assistant Quarterbacks coach and Brian Griese posted a rating of 97.5, his best since 2000.

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He was in New York back in 2005 as the quarterbacks coach. Yes the team went 4-12 that year but somehow Bates managed to coach three different quarterbacks, all that had to play. Vinny Testaverde, Chad Pennington and Brooks Bollinger all made starts that season. That’s not easy to manage.

Bates is best known in some circles for his time in Denver as he was with a young Jay Cutler from 2006-2008. He is recognized with good reason as Cutler made his only Pro Bowl appearance back in 2008.

After one year at USC Bates returned to the NFL as the offensive coordinator with the Seahawks. As he will be calling the plays in New York, this time is talked about a lot because it was the only previous time Bates was a play caller.

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He returned to Chicago in 2012 to work with Jay Cutler again as his position coach. Jeremy was out of football until Todd Bowles brought him on last season to work with the quarterbacks, but that doesn’t make him unqualified. Jeremy Bates has worked with many quarterbacks in this league and his gotten success for a great number of them.

Don’t hold the Hackenberg thing against him.