The New York Jets have fired head coach Adam Gase, Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson said in a statement Sunday after the team's 14th loss of the season.
The search for a new head coach comes as the 2-14 Jets finished the year with their fifth straight losing season, the longest such streak in the franchise's 61-year history. They also missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season, marking their worst postseason drought since the 1970s.
Johnson said it had been a "pleasure" to get to know Gase and his family and wished him the best, but added "it is clear the best decision for the Jets is to move in a different direction."
"We knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done when Adam joined us in 2019. Our strong finish last year was encouraging, but unfortunately, we did not sustain that positive momentum or see the progress we all expected this season."
"To our fans, it is obvious we have not been good enough," the statement continued. "We are committed to building a strong organization, on and off the field, and will continue to provide the necessary resources to field a team that you can be proud of."
The lone silver lining for fans of Gang Green had been the prospect of getting the top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and theoretically getting to take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But the team had a surprise win over the Rams and then another win over the Browns, leaving the Jaguars the coveted pick.
Gase has faced criticism since last season, his first as coach of the team, with football viewers lighting up Twitter with #firegase.
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In five seasons as an NFL head coach (the first three with the Dolphins), Gase has only put up one winning season, when he went 10-6 in 2016, his first year as a head coach in Miami. Since then, he has compiled a record of 22-22, with just a 9-23 mark in New York.
The Jets are set to finish with their second-worst record in franchise history, or with a week 17 win would match the 3-13 record the 1995 team finished with. The only worse season came the following year in 1996, when the team managed to win just one game.
Despite sporting one of the worst records in the league, Gase's dismissal is still something of a surprise. The Jets are historically loathe to get rid of coaches quickly; they have not fired a coach during the season since the early 1970s.
But this has been an especially active year for impatient NFL owners, with Gase now the fourth head coach to lose his job during this season.
