New York Jets head coach Adam Gase on Sunday had an awkward exchange with a reporter who asked him if he served as the primary play-caller in the team’s loss to the Miami Dolphins. The subject came up again on Monday, and Gase tried to explain why he sounded borderline incoherent the day before.
It was reported prior to the Dolphins game that Gase would be taking back play-calling responsibilities with Sam Darnold back under center after giving them up last month. Members of the media observed offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains not doing much on the sideline during Sunday’s game, so they drew the conclusion that he was not calling plays.
Rather than avoid answering a question about who called plays, Gase babbled about how he did not take back play-calling duties. He said he sometimes calls plays on third downs and that Loggains gives him three plays to use before a drive, which made almost no sense. You can see the video of Gase’s explanation here.
On Monday, Gase said the play-calling has been a “collaborative effort.” He also claimed he didn’t want to give too much away because it could become an advantage for opponents.
Gase said the play calling is a “collaborative effort.”
He & Dowell both call plays in different situations.
Gase doesn’t want to provide specifics for who calls what when because it can give opponents a “competitive advantage”
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 30, 2020
Much like Gase’s explanation on Sunday, that makes very little sense. Why would an opponent gain an advantage from knowing whether the head coach or offensive coordinator is calling plays? Is Gase implying a lip-reader could zero in on either him or Loggains if they knew which was in charge of calling plays?
Gase simply doesn’t know how to handle the media, and that’s probably one of the reasons he is on borrowed time with the Jets. The main reason is that the team fell to 0-11 with its latest loss on Sunday and is downright abysmal.
