Joe Douglas says Adam Gase is ‘right coach to lead’ Jets after Jamal Adams criticism
Joe Douglas threw his public support behind Adam Gase a few days after Jamal Adams eviscerated the mercurial Jets head coach.
Adams didn’t mince words in an explosive Daily News story, relaying the prevailing sentiment in the Jets locker room about the coach’s poor leadership, before the general manager attempted some damage control.
“I especially believe in Coach Gase,” Douglas said in a prepared statement Monday before taking questions during a conference call to discuss the blockbuster deal that sent the All-Pro safety to Seattle.
“I think he’s the right coach to lead this team. Having watched him work last year, having seen him and his staff overcome a 1-7 start and finish the way they did, I feel really good about where we are with him and his leadership.”
Adams, a team captain and leader, made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of Gase’s modus operandi last season.
“I don’t feel like he’s the right leader for this organization to reach the Promised Land,” Adams told the News. “As a leader, what really bothers me is that he doesn’t have a relationship with everybody in the building.
“At the end of the day, he doesn’t address the team,” Adams added. “If there’s a problem in the locker room, he lets another coach address the team. If we’re playing sh---y and we’re losing, he doesn’t address the entire team as a group at halftime. He’ll walk out of the locker room and let another coach handle it.”
Adams was the latest player to speak out against Gase, who had a conga line of critics in the Dolphins locker room. Gase also rubbed plenty of people the wrong way in the Jets locker room even if they didn’t go public like Adams.
Adams, the “heart and fabric” of the team, according to one incredulous player reached after the trade, pulled no punches. Douglas attempted to paint a rosy picture about the embattled coach.
“I’ve seen Adam (last) year go through a 1-7 start,” Douglas said. “A coach who never lost patience, who never wavered from his beliefs, and a guy who would get up and have the tough conversations if he had to with players. And get up and have great communication with the team in team meetings. So, everything I’ve seen, I’ve witnessed, in my year here with Adam, I’ve been impressed by. Again, I can’t speak for other people. But everything I’ve seen has been outstanding.”
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