As the Jets head coaching search continues to cast a (very) wide net, Evan Roberts believed Wednesday was a good time to comb through the long list of candidates and see who fails the “Gase Test.”
What is the Gase Test? It is a head coaching hire that was so heavily despised when the news of the hiring broke that Joe Benigno, still with WFAN middays at the time, let out a pained scream at the idea that his team would bring in a head coach he was positive would fall flat on his face.
Turns out, Joe B’s reaction was more than justified, as Gase turned out to be an all-out disaster in New York, starting with his bizarre introductory press conference that featured wide, wandering eyes. So, as the Jets look for Robert Saleh’s replacement, who would fail that Gase Test, and prompt a reaction from the fanbase similar to Joe’s when Gase was hired?
Evan went through the candidates to see who would make it through the Gase Test, starting with the interim head coach of the Saints.
Darren Rizzi: “I’m sort of intrigued. I wouldn’t celebrate on the radio if they hired him, but I would also defend it from a guttural reaction. Special teams coach, has a lot of experience, and has learned inside a solid tree. I see him as a ‘Eh, we’ll see’ when put up to the Gase test.”
Result: PASS
Arthur Smith: “If they hire this guy, I’m gonna lose my damn mind...he’s the king of 7-10. To me, that would be a very Gaseian hire.”
Result: FAIL
Mike Locksley: “You cannot sell me on a college coach who, over the last six years at the University of Maryland, is 32-36. You couldn’t sell me if he was 36-32.”
Result: FAIL
Vance Joseph: Tiki disagreed with Evan on this one, but Evan wants no part of the hiring the Broncos defensive coordinator, who the Jets announced they interviewed on Wednesday.
Result: FAIL
Matt Nagy: This was the opposite of Joseph, as Tiki believed the Chiefs offensive coordinator fails the Gase Test, but Evan believes, while he initially hated the idea, he has warmed up to the idea a bit. “I don’t want this man to be the head coach of the New York Jets, but I would no longer scream and yell...he won 12 games, won Coach of the Year, and coached Mitchell Trubisky to the playoffs.”
Result: PASS
Jeff Ulbrich: He almost certainly won’t get the job, but he interviewed for the position (perhaps out of courtesy), but Evan had to put him on the list, and he would revolt if Ulbrich was somehow hired. “If they somehow shocked me by hiring him, I would argue that my guttural response would be louder and angrier than any other candidate I mentioned, and I can also argue that it would be worse than Gase.
Result: FAIL