Adam Gase will lead the Jets for the first time on Sunday, when they open the season against the Bills. This is the latest chapter in a football life for Gase, who fell in love with football at Marshall High School in Michigan and made it to the NFL coaching ranks despite never playing college football.
Here is a look at Gase’s journey to this point, through the eyes of some of those who traveled it with him.
Michigan State
The Spartans were recruiting quarterback Ryan Van Dyke at Marshall High when coach Rich Hulkow told Michigan State assistant Deen Pees he should take a look at Gase — then a high school senior — as a coaching assistant.