Jets' Adam Gase Survives Another Head Coach Firing; Will He Be Next?

The New York Jets are winless under head coach Adam Gase this season. The Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia was fired on Saturday. Is Adam Gase next?

Another head coach in the NFL was fired this weekend, the third to be relieved of their duties this season. And yet, as the Jets take the field on Sunday, still in search of their first win, Adam Gase will be on the sidelines.

The Lions fired Matt Patricia on Saturday, along with general manager Bob Quinn. Detroit had lost two games in a row, and four of their last five, falling into last place in the NFC North. 

The struggles for the Lions under Patricia extend beyond 2020. Coming over from the Patriots, where he served as New England's defensive coordinator for six years, Patricia went 13-29-1 across three seasons as the Lions head coach. 

The other two head coaches to be fired this season—Houston's Bill O'Brien and Atlanta's Dan Quinn—saw their teams get off to cold starts this year as well. Quinn's Falcons were 0-5 when he was axed and O'Brien's Texans had an 0-4 record when he was dismissed. 

With a loss to the Dolphins on Sunday, the Jets' record will fall to 0-11 under Gase this year. Entering Week 12, Gase is 7-19 overall as New York's head coach.

So, how is it possible that Gase has survived this far into the season without being fired? 

One theory could be that the Jets have shown life over the last few weeks compared to Patricia's Lions and how they've deteriorated over the last month. The Jets have lost back-to-back games by six points or less. After failing to score more than 17 points in seven of the first eight weeks of the season, New York has put up 27 and 28 over its last two games. 

Perhaps ownership was close to pulling the trigger, but wants to see what Gase can do with some semblance of momentum that this team has built? After all, general manager Joe Douglas did say not too long ago that Gase is part of this organization's success going forward.

"The hope is that we can fix these problems together and be here for a while," Douglas said on Gase earlier this month.

READ: Jets' Joe Douglas: Adam Gase is Part of the Solution

Then again, Gase is on pace to coach the third team in NFL history to finish a season 0-16. It's hard to imagine he'll last into next season after that ignominious accomplishment. Same goes even if New York manages a win or two over the next six weeks.

That in mind, maybe the Jets just don't want to make a change midway through the season. For a franchise that's focusing on developing young players, it's possible they'd prefer to have those pieces avoid any type of distractions as they continue to get more playing time. Why add adjusting to a new head coach to their plate with only a month or so remaining in the season?

The Jets could start fresh with a loaded draft class, potentially move on from their franchise quarterback and head coach in the same offseason, find the right fit for which assets they're building around (like Trevor Lawrence, for instance) and go from there.

All in all, it's peculiar to see Gase and his .269 winning percentage with the Jets still coaching when others have already been sent packing across the league. As more vacancies begin to open up, as is the case every year, the Jets have to make up their minds soon. Otherwise, the replacement they're looking for might not be available when the time comes to make a hire.

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