Joe Benigno is not your prototypical sports radio host. You might not find his style, insight and analysis taught in broadcasting school, but his Jets passion is what you would expect to hear in the upper deck of a game.
On Monday, Benigno didn’t even want to think about the possibility of the Jets hiring Adam Gase as their next head coach. His focus was trying to get former Packer Mike McCarthy on the New York sideline.
“Get it freakin’ done right for a change,” Benigno said. “A hundred million under the cap, you finally look like you’ve got a quarterback, the third pick in the draft, now get the damn right head coach in here. Enough. Enough!”
After the New York Jets hired Adam Gase as their new head coach Wednesday night, many fans couldn’t wait to hear Benigno’s reaction on WFAN Thursday at 10am. During the midday show, Benigno was even trending on Twitter in New York, but don’t try to tell him what that means.
“The ownership of this team is a disaster. They’re a disaster. It’s the same old, same old, same old,” Benigno said on Thursday.
“What this team needs is a new owner, because the owners are horrific. They had a terrible owner for years with Leon Hess. They have terrible ownership now with the Johnson brothers. And that’s the problem with this franchise. They listen to the wrong people. That’s the problem with this franchise — the owners. They’re a joke.”
Benigno challenged Jets beat reporters for their public disparagement of McCarthy’s coaching credentials and spurned the thought that Gase had anything to do with Peyton Manning’s success in Denver.
Still, the WFAN midday host hopes he’s wrong about the Jets pick for head coach.
“I want to come on here one day and say, ‘Boy, was I wrong about Adam Gase.’ But what tells me that I will? History tells you they got it wrong. That’s the bottom line. Why would I not think we would be right here in the same position, looking for a new coach? Except this time they’ll also be looking for a new general manager.”
During his more than two decades as a host on WFAN, Benigno has served as a voice for Jet fans, his passion for the team even drawing admiration from Bill Belichick while serving as an assistant under Bill Parcells. After putting together a 23-25 record with the Miami Dolphins the last three seasons, Adam Gase will become the New York Jets sixth head coach since Benigno’s friend Bill Belichick left them for New England.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.