Jets GM Douglas to build on ‘special bond’ with Gase
Joe Douglas was Released as the Brand New general Director in the history of the New York Jets on Tuesday.
The marriage of Douglas and Gang Green reunites the GM with coach Adam Gase with whom he spent a year with the Chicago Bears: Douglas as director of faculty and Gase as offensive coordinator in 2015. It had been from the Windy City where the two broke up a bond which helped ease Douglas’ engage in New York last week.
“I’m excited to be working with Adam again after building a particular bond in Chicago,” Douglas said in his opening statement Tuesday. “We share a vision of building a team and that I look forward to partnering with him getting this app into a place where we are consistently competing for championships each and every year.”
Douglas elaborated on their friendship later:”I don’t think you can talk about that connection without even talking about Chicago. … I will never forget Adam was the guy who came and reached out to me almost immediately and we struck up a friendship. He invited us over his house, we could share dinner, we could talk ball and it was apparent from the very beginning that we discuss a lot of the exact dreams about staff work, about team building that was going to build a championship program.”
Additionally comfortable with his new team-building spouse, Gase told reporters of Douglas, per the New York Daily News,”He probably enjoys my insanity a tiny bit.”
Douglas’ sunny language about his connection with Gase exemplifies a departure from the Mike Maccagnan-Gase union that lasted less than four months. Gase was hired to replace fired coach Todd Bowles in January however Maccagnan was kept on, resulting in an arranged marriage which didn’t work out, to say the least.
When New York stopped Maccagnan after the draft, Douglas was named as a favorite to succeed the GM within an hour of the news breaking. Douglas, a product of the Ozzie Newsome scouting tree, was viewed as one of the rising general manager prospects. The Jets interviewed four candidates, but fell in love with Douglas and reportedly ended up paying him double what they initially offered on a six-year thing.
Despite turning the Jets’ first offers, Douglas said Tuesday that New York is where he would like to be, partially due to Gase.
“I believe my relationship with Adam played a great part in this but also just the opportunity to spend quality time with (Jets owner) Christopher Johnson,” Douglas said. “I can not tell you just how special that has been for me. I think we share a good deal of the same vision of what it takes to win. of partnership and teamwork.”
That vision includes a hunt for gamers that”never stops” Douglas made a point to highlight the Jets’ No. 3 place in the waiver order, stating,”We’re going to comb through every waiver wire that is out.” He has already made a trade, too, releasing tight conclusion Neal Sterling on Tuesday.
It was his first of many moves as the general manager of Gang Green, most of which he said will be collaborative inside the Jets’ facility.
“I’m not a yes man and I have a lot of certainty in regards to belief systems and players whom I like,” Douglas told NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones. “It’s not just me. I expect that from everybody on the staff, scouts and trainers. Should you do the work, if you’ve got an opinion, then we should all listen to it. At the conclusion of the day, we should hash out it.
“We may not all agree, but we are going to do what is ideal for the New York Jets.”
