When the New York Jets hired Adam Gase as their next head coach in 2019, fans were hoping he'd be able to turn around the offense. Despite being an offensive-minded coach, Gase didn't exactly make a positive difference for the offense in his first season in New York.
Over the course of the regular season, the Jets had the 32nd-ranked offense in terms of yards gained (29th pass offense, 31st rushing offense). Additionally, New York averaged only 17.3 points per game (31st in the NFL).
Just a season ago, the Jets had the 23rd scoring offense in the NFL. Given those numbers, Gase's first season definitely didn't go according to plan.
Luckily for Gase, he'll get another offseason to adjust his offense and schemes. In light of that, here are three ways that Gase must change in 2020 for New York.
3. Embrace the cornerstone players
In his first season as the head coach of the Jets, there's no question that Gase's media skills were questionable. At one point, there was a chance that New York was going to trade both Le'Veon Bell and Jamal Adams due to how Gase handled their respective situations.
If the Jets want to begin moving forward, Bell and Adams are vital to the roster. Therefore, Gase should begin embracing the cornerstone players on the team; not turn them away.
Over his coaching career, Gase has rubbed players the wrong way with how he addresses them. Heading into his second season with the Jets, Gase would be wise to learn from his prior mistakes before burning bridges with talented players.
2. Be open to adjusting his offensive schemes
Upon Gase's arrival in New York, everyone was expecting him to aid the development of Sam Darnold. But for Darnold to maximize his potential, Gase needs to be willing to adjust his offensive schemes.
As Graham Barfield of NFL.com pointed out, the Jets were one of the teams that utilized pre-snap motions or shifts the least in 2019. To be exact, New York incorporated a pre-snap motion or shift on just 30 percent of their offensive snaps (30th in the NFL).
In today's NFL, pre-snap motions are, for the most part, resulting in more successful offenses. There's a reason why the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are meeting in this year's Super Bowl. The second-year head coach of the Jets could benefit from adding some wrinkles to his offense in 2020.
1. Simply run the ball more
Last offseason, the Jets signed Bell to a lucrative contract; making him one of the highest-paid running backs in the NFL. Usually when you sign someone of Bell's caliber, that team would discover ways to get him the ball.
Besides Bell, New York also brought in Ty Montgomery to join Bilal Powell in the backfield. Even with a loaded running back room, the Jets ran the ball only 383 times (seventh-fewest in the NFL) in 2019.
To help Darnold in the passing game, running the ball with Bell (or whoever is still in New York next season) more often could pay dividends for his evolution. Even if Gase isn't in favor of having a handsomely paid running back, he needs to run the ball more in 2020.
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