In the aftermath of Josh McDaniels accepting the head coaching positing with the Raiders, the New England Patriots are in the market for a new offensive coordinator. Upon the news that McDaniels was heading to the Raiders, various names have sprouted to the surface as possible replacements, including the idea of the team promoting from within. If they were to go with an outside hire, however, it appears like the team may take a hard look at Adam Gase.
According to Mike Giardi of the NFL Network, Gase’s name keeps popping up as a potential candidate to fill the currently vacant OC position in New England. The 43-year-old hasn’t coached in the NFL since being fired by the New York Jets following the 2020 season. While Gase wasn’t a successful head coach in New York and even dating back to his time with the Miami Dolphins, he has always drawn praise from Bill Belichick.
“I have a lot of respect for Adam,” Belichick said of Gase back on Dec. 30 during the 2020 season. “I think he’s a very good coach. He’s always been tough to coach against. He’s always made things difficult on our defense. … I think he’s done an excellent job. I thought he did a good job with Miami and I think he’s done a good job with the Jets. He’s, as I said, a coach I have a lot of respect for and he gives us a lot of problems. He’s a tough, tough coach to coach against, so that’s really the way I feel about him.”
Gase last served as an offensive coordinator back in 2015 as a member of the Chicago Bears staff. He was also the offensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos from 2013-2014 during Peyton Manning’s tenure.
While Gase may be someone who the Patriots take a look at, there are other candidates as well, including current Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. Outside of McDaniels, O’Brien was the most recent Patriots OC, so there is plenty of familiarity between him and Bill Belichick. That said, if O’Brien is content with his job under Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa (or takes a head coaching job), that’ll force New England to look elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Giardi also relayed if there was an internal promotion for the Patriots, it would likely come without that person holding the official coordinator title, which has become commonplace with the Patriots under Bill Belichick in those circumstances.
