New York has three games left to avoid becoming the third 0-16 team in NFL history, and if last week was any indication (the Seahawks drubbed Gang Green by a 40-3 final margin), the reeling Jets don’t appear to have much fight left in them. Coach Adam Gase, who seems to grow more deflated with each press conference, was in a somber mood Wednesday, reflecting on his two-year tenure in the Big Apple, which will almost certainly come to an end after the Jets take the field for the final time in Week 17.
“You try to figure out where things went wrong and what we can change,” said Gase via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “At the end of the day, it's about winning. We haven't done that.”
In the past, Gase would frequently deflect criticism, but lately, he’s struck a different tone. The 42-year-old, perhaps seeing the finish line in sight, has been much more willing to acknowledge his shortcomings in recent weeks, lamenting not getting through to franchise quarterback (though probably not for long) Sam Darnold, among other missed opportunities. Gase also admitted to failing team owner and CEO Christopher Johnson, with whom he maintains a close relationship.
“He deserves better,” said Gase. “He’s like the rest of us. He wants to win as much as we do.”
Gase wishes he had delivered on his promise to bring winning football to East Rutherford, but for whatever reason, the pieces never quite fit. “For [Johnson] not to feel a playoff feel, of being competitive in December, it's disappointing to me that we haven't been able to do that for him.”
It’s been an interesting transformation seeing Gase, who openly antagonized fans and media in his Jets debut last season, bare his soul as his coaching leash has gotten tighter. But in the famous words of OneRepublic, it’s “too late to apologize.” Even if the Jets manage to avoid the embarrassment of 0-16 by winning one of their final three games, those three games are all Gase is getting.
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