Peyton Manning wanted Jets to hire Adam Gase - New York Post

It helps to have references when applying for a job. Adam Gase had an influential one.

Legendary quarterback Peyton Manning called Jets CEO Christopher Johnson on Tuesday night to recommend Gase for the team’s head-coaching opening. A day later, the Jets hired him.

Manning spent three seasons with Gase from 2012-14 with the Broncos. Gase was the quarterbacks coach in the first season and the offensive coordinator in the final two years.

The two were part of a record-setting offense in 2013 that got all the way to the Super Bowl before a defeat to the Seahawks at MetLife Stadium.

Manning and the Jets have a complicated history. He chose to stay in college at Tennessee in 1997 rather than enter the NFL draft when the Jets had the No. 1 overall pick. He also rebuffed advances from the Jets in 2012 when he became a free agent, ultimately landing with the Broncos.

Manning handed the Jets a painful loss in the AFC title game after the 2009 season, but the Jets beat his Colts a year later in the playoffs.

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