In his first extended comments since the Jets fired general manager Mike Maccagnan, coach Adam Gase was adamant that he played no role in the ouster of the GM.
“That would be false,” Gase said when asked about the perception he stabbed Maccagnan in the back. “That’s just not true. Christopher [Johnson, team CEO] made a decision.”
Maccagnan was fired last week after four years on the job and just four months after the team hired Gase. The finger was immediately pointed at Gase for pushing Maccagnan out and winning a power struggle. Gase said Johnson never asked for his opinion of Maccagnan before making the move.
“I wasn’t asked,” Gase said. “He called me and told me what he was doing.”
Gase admitted he and Maccagnan did not always see eye-to-eye but said it was not the rift that has been reported.
“The majority of the time Mike and I were on the same page,” Gase said. “You have disagreements. There’s always going to be disagreements in this business as far as philosophy, what you want to do player personnel-wise. At the end of the day, he had the final decision. That was his right.”
Asked to describe his relationship with Maccagnan, Gase passed.
“It’s irrelevant,” he said. “All that’s irrelevant. The decision was made and we’re moving forward.”
Gase is now the interim GM and will be part of the search to find Maccagnan’s replacement. Gase said the team is still in the early stages of that search and trying to compile a list of names to interview. Gase said it is not important to him to have a previous relationship with the new GM.
“It’s going to be Christopher Johnson’s decision,” Gase said.
Johnson has said he wants a “strategic thinker” as the next GM, and he is not just emphasizing personnel or scouting experience. Gase said they are trying to find the right candidates.
“There’s a mold of what some teams are looking for in a GM,” Gase said. “He’s looking for something a little bit different.”
Johnson said Gase will “assist” him in the GM search, and Gase sounds like he is working with the owner on figuring out who to interview.
“We’re going through the beginning stages of our process,” Gase said. “We’ve been working to really kind of finalize what we’re thinking as far as people. We just want to make sure that we go through the job descriptions and everything like that and responsibilities and making sure we’re very detailed in how we do this. It’s one of those things … it’s complicated sometimes when you really tear down the position and look through everything of what it is and what the responsibilities are.”
Gase said the new GM will not be a yes-man to him.
“I don’t really hang out with yes-men,” Gase said. “If it’s somebody I already know, it’s probably somebody that’s not going to be a yes-man.”
It has been a rough start for Gase with the Jets. Many fans were unhappy with his hiring initially and now see him as someone who executed a power grab.
“I think our fans care if we win or lose,” Gase said. “ If we win games, nobody’s going to remember this. Our job is to win. Our job is to win. That’s it.”
As far as the criticism, Gase said he can take it.
“That’s what I get paid for,” Gases said. “I get paid to take all the bullets.”
There have been plenty coming his way already.