Adam Gase was the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos during Peyton Manning’s tenure with the team, and that is easily the most impressive portion of the coach’s resume. As many have suspected, however, it sounds like Manning was really the one calling the shots during his successful tenure in Denver.
Free agent offensive lineman Ben Garland, who played for Denver from 2010-2014, told “The DA Show” on Thursday that Manning was “extremely demanding” as quarterback of the Broncos. Garland said he held not only his teammates but also his coaches to a very high standard. That included Gase.
“He would correct coaches, he would correct players, he would have you stand up and get called out during meetings,” Garland recalled, as transcribed by Audacy’s Tom Hanslin. “Just making sure everyone was on-point so we were at the top of our game…
“I mean, watching him call out offensive coordinators in meetings after the coordinator put together a game plan and him asking for it a day earlier than everyone else. Normally you do the installs by Wednesday, and he demanded them to be done by Tuesday so he could review them before Wednesday’s meetings.”
Garland said he comes from a military background so he was “blown away” by a quarterback speaking to an offensive coordinator like that. He mentioned Gase by name and said he recalls the coaching staff listening to Manning and getting him the game plan when he wanted it.
Obviously, Manning was already an established Hall of Famer when he got to Denver. Quarterbacks like that can practically run their own offense, so his demeanor was not necessarily a reflection of Gase’s incompetence.
That said, Gase hasn’t had much success in the NFL since Manning retired. That probably isn’t a coincidence. Gase’s tenure with the Jets was riddled with embarrassing moments, and his reputation has gone way downhill in recent years.
