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Adam Gase has the dubious task of turning around the New York Jets. While some pundits think the team is a darkhorse to compete this season thanks to the addition of running back Le’Veon Bell and maturation of second-year quarterback Sam Darnold, only time will tell if Gase is the right man for the job — especially after having mixed results as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
While there may be questions about how good the Jets might actually be, if there’s one thing we know about Adam Gase, it’s that he’ll put in the work for results. Well, you may not have known that before reading this, but after seeing how obsessed the dude is with football, you’ll understand.
That’s because, in an article with The Athletic, a story surfaced about how Gase once left his wife just mere seconds after their son was born in order to return to coach. While with the Denver Broncos a few years ago, Gase had a weekly meeting at 2 p.m., and, after he and his wife Jennifer had the kid, boom, the dude was out of there and on his way to the facility.
Every Tuesday when he was in Denver, Gase met with Manning at 2 p.m. Except this Tuesday, when Jennifer was delivering Wyatt by caesarean section. Gase told his wife to schedule the operation for 10 a.m. “So they pulled the baby out of me and said, ‘It’s a boy,’” Jennifer says. “They didn’t even put my organs back and sew me up before he’s like, ‘You good?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’” He said, ‘All right then, I’m out.’ They said, ‘You want to cut the umbilical cord?’ He said, ‘No, I’m good.’”
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At 2 p.m., Manning was stunned to find Gase waiting for him in the meeting room. Manning: “You’ve got to be kidding me. Didn’t your wife just have a baby two hours ago?” Gase: “Yeah, but did you really think I was going to let you win this one?”
Uh, is that borderline psychopath behavior, or is it just me? I’m not saying you shouldn’t love what you do, but, damn, Adam Gase didn’t even find time to cut the umbilical cord? Winning at all costs just got a new meaning.
While that may be one (extreme) example of Adam Gase’s football obsession, the story also outlines how, in his wife’s words, “OCD” he is about the profession, even detailing how the head coach has handwritten notes from every game he’s coached, along with a file for every single day he’s been a coach. Uh, yeah, I’d say the guy is a little OCD.
His office has a back closet full of binders with handwritten notes — one for every game he’s coached. He also has taken over three closets in his new house for binders.
Says Jennifer: “Thank God this new house has more space. In Fort Lauderdale, we had no basement and limited closet space, so we had the notebooks in storage. He has everything lined up in perfect order. He’s kind of OCD.”
On his computer, he has a file for every day he has been a coach. In each file is what he did that day and how it worked out. There also is a file for every opponent for every year. And then he has a master folder for each year, which keeps track of needed adjustments.
Despite the fact that footballs float around in Adam Gase’s head more than anything else, he has the full support of his wife, who is the daughter of a football coach, so she seems to understand the whole ordeal.
Jennifer is an ideal fit for him — the daughter of a football coach whose perception of normal may be slightly askew. “I love that he loves what he does,” she says. “He coaches, and I take care of everything else.”
Here’s to hoping that, one day, we all find something to be as passionate about as Adam Gase is with the sport of football. Whether it’s an obsession, an unhealthy competitive spirit or something else that drives this guy to forego the first few minutes with his newborn son, the dude clearly has the desire to succeed.