New York Jets: Preseason coaching grades entering 2020

Grading the New York Jets coaching staff entering the 2020 season.

As we approach the start of the 2020 NFL season, it is the perfect time to look at the New York Jets and how well (or not so well, depending on position) the coaching staff has performed prior to the start of 2020 training camp.

The Jets seem to be a better team on the defensive side of the ball and the offense has really yet to make the progress some would have expected after the hiring of alleged offensive mastermind Adam Gase as head coach last offseason.

Let’s examine how well-coached the Jets are when it comes to every facet of the game.

Grading the New York Jets offensive coaching staff

If you’ve read anything of mine previously, you know that why Dowell Loggains is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for this team is beyond me. He was awful in Miami alongside Gase and the Jets made no notable improvements with Sam Darnold and the passing game in 2019.

Loggains’ utilization of running back Le’Veon Bell, who the team spent a fortune on in 2019 free agency, in the rushing attack was also a mistake. Bell needs to be a 1,000-yard back if he’s being used properly and it’s clear that was not the case in his first season with New York.

As for his role as the quarterbacks coach, Loggains should’ve been usurped by Josh McCown, a veteran who mentored Darnold on the roster in his rookie season. That would be a major improvement in that position. Speaking of former players who could take on a bigger role, current offensive assistant and former Steelers wideout Hines Ward is an intriguing option as a possible passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach.

The Jets should have released Loggains at the end of last year with how the offense looked and replaced him with Jay Gruden, Jason Garrett or another more qualified candidate. Instead, the outlook looks bleak with Loggains calling the shots.

Preseason Grade: D-

Grading the New York Jets defensive coaching staff

The only coaching hire New York got right last offseason was landing Gregg Williams as their defensive coordinator. After leading the Cleveland Browns to a 5-3 record as their interim head coach in 2018, the Jets landed him and immediately saw the energy he brings to the sidelines, something that can’t be said of Gase.

Williams clearly sets high expectations for his players and makes the best of what the roster gives him. That was especially true last season, specifically at the cornerback spot where the Jets were spread thin in 2019. If Gase were to be removed midseason or at the end of 2020, Williams should be a strong candidate to replace the current head coach.

Preseason Grade: B+

Grading the New York Jets special teams coaching staff

Brant Boyer has made some mistakes when it comes to being a special teams coordinator, mostly last season. He was a holdover coach from the Todd Bowles era and was abysmal in 2019. Part of that was the team decisions to let skilled return-man Andre Roberts and Pro Bowl kicker Jason Meyers walk in free agency prior to last year.

The Jets struggled in the kicking game throughout last year and why Boyer is not insisting that the Jets pick up former Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski makes no sense to me. The punting game wasn’t much better either and, on the whole, it’s hard to expect much from Boyer and his unit in the 2020 campaign.

Preseason Grade: F

Grading the New York Jets head coach

In case you couldn’t capture the context clues, I’m of the belief that Adam Gase was a terrible hire for the Jets. He had little success as an offensive coordinator other than getting lucky enough to coach Peyton Manning in Denver and was a disappointment in Miami. It’s even more frustrating when a Super Bowl-winning coach, Mike McCarthy, was interested in New York and the front office, instead, decided to roll with Gase.

Gase lacks energy on the sidelines, has no accountability for his players and how they behave with the media and hasn’t helped with his brief influence in free agency or the draft. The offense remains as questionable as it was when he arrived. New York is destined for another sub-.500 season with him as the head coach and letting him go at the end of the year (or earlier) is a necessary evil to stop the bleeding.