Did a power struggle with coach Adam Gase lead to the New York Jets firing general manager Mike Maccagnan? No. Not according to Gase, anyway.
Gase spoke publicly on Monday for the first time since Maccagnan was fired. He dismissed the idea that it was a power struggle. Gase also noted that he’s only the interim GM. And when the new full-time GM is hired, that person will have the same responsibilities as Maccagnan.
“I disagree with that, as far as a power struggle,” Gase said, per Darryl Slater, NJ.com. “Because whoever is getting hired [as the new GM] is going to have the same role — control of the roster. I will coach the football team. That’s what I’m going to do. Nothing is changing in that structure.”
Gase also added that “in this business, [expletive] like that happens all the time. It happened to me last year,” referencing himself being fired by the Miami Dolphins.
Gase definitely had his salesman shoes on for this one. Nothing that Gase said means that a power struggle didn’t take place.
First off, Joe Douglas from the Philadelphia Eagles is one of the frontrunners to become GM. He and Gase have worked together in the past. So, while he would have the same job as Maccagnan, he’d seem far more likely to make moves in accordance with what Gase would want.
And there’s nothing wrong with the coach and GM being on the same page. But this does nothing to quell the idea that it was a power struggle.
Namely because to Gase’s other point, this actually has very little in common with his being fired by the Dolphins (or Todd Bowles being fired by the Jets) at the end of the season. Firings in the NFL do happen all of the time. But with coaches and GMs, they usually happen shortly after the season ends.
Firing Maccagnan would have been easily defensible in December or January. But in May, after he’s run free agency and the draft but before the season begins? That makes no sense. Moreover, it really does create the feeling of a power struggle.
Even if a lot of what Gase said here is technically true, this was not his strongest argument. He almost would have been better off owning the fact that a power struggle took place. As it his, he created almost as many questions as he answered.