Christopher Johnson ended his media hiatus Wednesday to deliver an unsurprising bit of news.
Johnson announced that Adam Gase will return as the team’s head coach in 2020 despite his failings thus far. Gase has gone 2-7 and Sam Darnold has struggled under his direction. Instead of listening to reactionary fans, though, Johnson will stick with Gase next season — for better or worse.
Gase, however, was not the only subject Johnson spoke about when he met with reporters. With that said, here are six takeaways from his Wednesday press conference.
No Coaching Change
The purpose of Christopher Johnson’s media meet and greet was to address the state of the franchise, but to also throw his support behind Gase.
Gase will be coaching the team in 2020, Johnson announced. He told the team last week.
“I want to assure you there will be no changes in coaches here,” Gase said. “Adam has the trust of this team. He has the trust of Sam [Darnold]. He has Joe [Douglas’] trust. He has my trust. He’s a good man. He’s a good coach.”
That last part is up for debate, but Johnson is sticking with his man.
A Self-Deprecating Evaluation
Christopher Johnson is 11-30 since taking over day to day operations of the Jets from his bother, Woody.
Obviously, he is not thrilled with the team’s performance and is frustrated with losing. That said, he believes he has the correct regime in place to correct the losing ways of the organization.
“It’s said that you are what your record says you are and that’s not very impressive,” Johnson said. “But looking forward I think this is going to be a good team. I have so much faith in Adam and Joe to put together a great future for us.”
Sam Darnold’s Struggles
Christopher Johnson is aware of Darnold’s struggles, but deflected blame to the team’s dreadful offensive line.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity,” Johnson said. “Sam hasn’t been given the best opportunity to thrive. We’ve had so many moving parts on the offensive line that I think it has affected his ability to play as he would like.”
Johnson mentioned that Darnold keeping continuity with Gase is important, but just one component in the grand scheme of things. Still, Darnold starting his third season in a third different system isn’t an ideal setup for the CEO.
Wants Jamal Adams to Be a Jet forever
Christopher Johnson gushed about the prospect of keeping Jamal Adams but deferred to Joe Douglas, who has control of the team’s 53-man roster. Johnson said he won’t interfere, but we’ll see.
“When I hired Joe, I told him he had control of the 53,” Johnson said. “I told him I would have a very light touch when it came to influencing that… But I would love to have Jamal on this team forever.”
Adams had a chance to respond when asked about the comments.
“S—,” he said. “I wanna be a Jet for life, too.”
Fan Frustrations
Christopher Johnson said he empathizes with fans’ frustrations.
“I understand it. I’m frustrated, too,” he said. “I hate to lose.”
Johnson understands his fans’ skepticism but ultimately won’t listen to them when it comes to Adam Gase’s job. Fans have grown increasingly fed up with the Jets’ first-year head coach, who they saw falter in Miami.
Fans have worn shirts that say “Fire Adam Gase,” and one group even flew a planner with a banner trailing behind that read, “Fire Adam Gase Now!”
The New Regime
The dysfunction that existed in the building between Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles and Maccagnan and Adam Gase has made finding a relationship that works a priority for Johnson.
He thinks he has that in Gase and Joe Douglas, who worked together in Chicago and have similar visions for the future of the team.
“Seeing him work with Joe, it’s a whole new dynamic in this building,” Johnson said of their relationship. “It’s a really positive dynamic. They have the same vision for this team going forward.”
Johnson is comfortable with his current structure and doesn’t see a shakeup as necessary despite outside desires for it to change.
