Adam Gase will start looking for a job next week after the Jets fire him, which is almost certain. There is some rumor out of Boston that the Patriots would consider him their new quarterbacks coach. Jedd Fisch has just left that role to take the job of head coach at the University of Arizona.
It would make sense to see Gase land in New England. He and Josh McDaniels go back to 1999, when both were low-level assistants on Nick Saban’s staff in the state of Michigan. Gase worked under McDaniels in Denver as the wide receiver coach when McDaniels was the head coach. Patriots coach Bill Belichick is always very complimentary about Gase as well, as he was again on Tuesday during a conference call with Jets reporters.
“I think Adam has done a great job this year in continuing to improve the team with coaching,” said Belichick. As usual, his excellent game plan and playcalling are problems for the defense. This is a team that has gotten better. “
The bigger question than whether the patriots would like Gase is whether Gase could swallow his pride to work under McDaniels. Gase has been a head coach for five seasons. His contract with Jets is still running for two years, so he will be making money. It would certainly be a blow to his ego to become a position coach again, especially among someone he worked for 10 years ago.
Gase may not have many other options, but it still feels unlikely that Jets fans will see him on the New England sidelines next year.