Some coaches are blessed to enter their NFL careers with winning franchises and mentors to guide their transition into the pros. For others, the road to success is often met with a rocky start, some setbacks and a few more bumps along the way.
Jets head coach Adam Gase is no stranger to the latter. In fact, he barely flinched when asked if he’s ever faced such harrowing odds as being 23-point underdogs to the Patriots this week.
“I’m sure,” Gase said. “I coached in Detroit for five years.”
Gase was referring to his first taste of professional football when was a member of the Detroit Lions staff, starting in 2003. He was hired by Steve Mariucci as a scouting assistant and assumed that role until 2005 when Mariucci was fired for winning just 16 games in three seasons.
In 2006, Rod Marinelli took over as head coach of the Lions and promoted Gase to the offensive quality control coach. Just one year later, Gase was promoted again to the team’s quarterbacks coach.
In his early time with Detroit, the Lions struggled with stringing together wins. As a result, they too faced some outstanding odds. With that in mind, Gase is not sweating was bettors have to say about this game against New England.
