Second Chances in Leadership & The Story of NY Jets Coach Adam Gase

I'm a firm believer that everyone deserves a second chance in the workplace. There are reasons why people don't always succeed or why individuals find themselves failing. It's not uncommon to watch a first time leader struggle through their first year before finding their footing. After all, leadership isn't for everyone, even though many people make that mistake of finding themselves in the Manager chair because it's the next box to check on their career progression chart.

While I'm a firm believer that everyone deserves a second chance, I'm also a believer that in between the first and the second chances, or stints, in the leadership chair, you must find a way to take a step back. After the first stint doesn't work out so well, individuals have to find time to reflect, learn, and ensure their second run at leadership doesn't fail miserably, like the first. I've watched a lot of individuals struggle through their first year or so in leadership. In fact, everyone reading this article can think of someone who fits that bill. First time leaders are forced to run the gauntlet of people issues, business goals, and a daunting uphill battle of having all the answers when they simply don't.

Failure at leadership on the first go around isn't a sin or a career breaker. Finding yourself fired after leading a team of people doesn't mean you should hang up your leadership jersey and never attempt it again. It also doesn't mean you should dive right back into leadership right away either. Those who find themselves out of work after a failed run at people leadership should tie their wagon to a great company with a great set of core values where they can see amazing leadership in action. Think about it like going from the master to an apprentice role. Now you get a chance to watch someone else in action again and learn before taking a second run.

Although it's super early in the 2020 NFL season, I can already draw some parallels to the storylines of New York Jets Coach Adam Gase. Gase is a 5th year Head Coach and veteran of professional locker rooms. After a successful run as Offensive Coordinator with the Peyton Manning led Denver Broncos, including a Super Bowl victory, Gase went on to run the offense for the Chicago Bears. After one season, which was deemed unsuccessful, the Miami Dolphins hired Gase as their Head Coach.

The 2016 season for the Dolphins was considered a success. They finished 10-6 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. However, it's been all down hill since that year. Gase ended up getting fired after the 2018 season, just three years into his contract with the Dolphins. He finished with a dismal 23-25 record. His first season with the Jets; he finished with a 7-9 record.

This is where this story begins.

Gase has historically been known as a coach who fails to take ownership for his actions. He's pointed blame at players and front offices in the past, and he's been called immature by sports writers. His record didn't warrant a second run at a head coaching role nor has his reputation.

So I ask the question, why did he get a contract to coach the Jets shortly after the Dolphins fired him?

Gase is currently in his second season as Head Coach of the New York Jets, a team that is featured in the AFC East, the same division that saw him twice during his run with the Dolphins. This is the equivalent of watching the VP of Sales fail to achieve targets at Coca-Cola but Pepsi decides to hire them for the same exact role.

The reasons why Gase got a second opportunity are beyond me. Was it the lack of creativity that the NFL tends to showcase in their hires? Was it white privilege? Is he an amazing interviewer who convinced the Jets that the Dolphins were a terrible organization? The real reason I will never known and or understand.

The other question that looms for me is why did the New York Jets believe that he was ready for the opportunity? After watching Gase coach the Dolphins, a team in their division and playing against them twice a year, what was it that they saw in him that made them believe he would be able to lead their team to success? This article is just as much about Jets leadership as it is about learning through failure for the individual contributor or leader

A failed CEO run doesn't mean someone should never be a CEO again. In fact, I can argue that failure in a role makes that person that much more marketable in the future, if they take the time to step back, learn from their mistakes, and put those new leadership principles into action. A CEO who gets fired and immediately hired as CEO again within months, won't have the time to reflect and or look back on what went wrong. They won't be able to test new leadership strategies that could work well in the future and they won't be able to truly look in the mirror and pin point the humility that comes with failure.

The point of this article is simple. Everyone deserves a second chance, but not immediately in the same role after showcasing failure. In order to grow and learn, a leader who fails by all accounts of the term, needs to take a step back. Rather than accept another Head Coaching role, why not accept a Coordinator role? Instead of being another VP, perhaps it would make more sense to become a Director at the next company and work for an amazing VP. How does one ever learn if they are thrown right into the fire at a second company in the same role?

by Scott Bond