New York Jets: Adam Gase has history on his side in year one

As much as there was a faction of New York Jets fans that didn’t want Adam Gase to come here, history is on his side in his first season.

When the New York Jets hired Adam Gase, many members of the fan base, including yours truly, was not happy. Let’s face it, he did very little in Miami and didn’t take much responsibility for how it ended. A good faction of the fans had a list of other candidates they would have preferred.

Besides anything else, it doesn’t often work out when a first-time head coach goes right into his next job without taking time as a coordinator. Look at how it went for Rex Ryan in Buffalo.

But like it or not, we are stuck with Adam Gase for the near future. So, we move ahead. How are things going to go in year one?

More from Empire Writes Back

They say that history repeats itself.

If that is true, the 2019 Jets will be just fine because history has gone in favor of first year coaches with the Jets.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see what I mean, starting way back in 1997.

Why there? It’s fair to say it was a new era for the Jets when Bill Parcells became the coach.

For the first time in what felt like centuries, the Jets had a real coach. All of a sudden they began to be taken seriously.

Let’s start there and look at first year coaches from then until now.

1997: Bill Parcells, 9-7 record

This was one of the particularly impressive years. As we all know, the Jets were 1-15 the previous year. Bill got it done with largely the same roster that went 1-15 the year before under Rich Kotite.

2000: Al Groh, 9-7 record

Parcells stepped down and Bill Belichick did his napkin exit. Who was going to coach? Linebackers coach Al Groh took over for what ended up being one season. He again was successful as a first year coach, leading the team to a 9-7 record.

This was the year of the comebacks, including the game when Curtis Martin threw a TD pass to Wayne Chrebet to beat Keyshawn Johnson and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

2001: Herman Edwards, 10-6 and a playoff appearance

After Groh left for Virginia, Herman Edwards was hired to take over the team as the first outside coaching hire under new owner Woody Johnson. The result was ten wins and a Wild Card appearance.

2006: Eric Mangini, 10-6 and a playoff appearance

Edwards is gone after saying that he would stay, so the Jets make another outside splash by signing one of Belichick’s coaches, Eric Mangini.

The man who took on the moniker of the “Mangenious” showed why during that first year with ten wins of his own and a Wild Card loss to his old friend Belichick and the Patriots.

Do we absolutely require an edge rusher?. dark. Next

2009: Rex Ryan, 9-7 and a AFC title game appearance

Mangini was out, and to replace him was the boisterous Rex Ryan. As we remember, the former Ravens defensive coordinator told us exactly what the Jets were going to do and whose rings that he wasn’t going to kiss.

Love him or hate him, he won nine games his first year and was one half away from a trip to the Super Bowl.

2015: Todd Bowles, 10-6

Mike Maccagnan spent a lot of money putting a team of veterans together this season, but Bowles still had to lead them. He did so quite well, winning ten games and one Ryan Fitzpatrick performance in the final game away from a playoff spot.

Does any of this guarantee Gase a good year? Of course not. It’s just interesting to look back at history and see how well first year coaches have looked. He has a solid chance in year one, judging by history.

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