A scout at heart, Mike Maccagnan had thoroughly done his research on Adam Gase before the Jets contingent entertained their future head coach on Jan. 4th.
"I've met Adam a few times and obviously we've played against him, so I knew him from that standpoint. But we have some mutual friends, so I had a bit of a feel for him," Maccagnan said on a special installment of Jets 360 Live following Gase's introductory news conference. "Everyone I've ever talked to about him and all the research we did on him before we actually got a chance to interview him — people spoke very highly in terms of his passion and his intellect. From an offensive standpoint, it's very well-documented his work with quarterbacks that very much intrigued us. From an offensive standpoint, he's very creative and innovative."
If you compare it to the scouting process, the film was already out there on Gase. The Jets liked what they saw and what they heard, and the interview only further validated their opinions.
"Before we had a chance to meet him, we knew a lot about him," Maccagnan said. "And I always tell people that the interview process is a part of it, but in reality, it's all the research you do on them. It's almost like scouting a player like you do in college or in the pro free agency."
Gase, who was 23-25 in his three seasons in Miami, has moved north to the media capital of the world. Former Jets safety Erik Coleman asked Maccagnan if getting a coach who could handle the New York media played a role in the franchise's decision.
"There are a lot of things to be a successful head coach in this league. I think you mentioned the New York market, but I think the other part of it is really when you combine his passion, his history, his energy, his intellect in terms of his ability to work with quarterbacks — there are a lot of really key things in that whole process," said Maccagnan, who assisted Jets CEO and Chairman Christopher Johnson in the search. "But the other part, when you go back and look at what he did in Miami, there are other things we are focused on too from the defense and special teams standpoint. But we definitely feel good about him and his ability to lead our team into the future, and we're excited about that."
Gase will direct with a no-nonsense approach. He is a 40-year-old creator who will get after it every day and demand accountability from each player inside the locker room.
"I think that's one of the things you want in a head coach because in the end, you're building that culture and that chemistry. The players thrive off of that," Maccagnan said. "I know from a work ethic standpoint, he is again what he is and what he's going to have on our team is going to be exceptional. He's all about toughness, he wants aggressiveness. Those are all key qualities that we want to help build this organization with."
With the Jets organizational structure remaining the same, Gase, Maccagnan and team president Neil Glat are all on the same level and everyone is reporting to Christopher Johnson. In the days ahead, Gase will work on finalizing his staff and Maccagnan will be there to help with any support needed with logistical things such as contract negotiations.
"We talk about his staff and who he'd potentially want to hire," Maccagnan said. "We feel very good about some of the guys he's going to target and they're very good coaches. And we'll be very aggressive to try and get them here and to help him."
