Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has said nothing but glowing things about his new head coach Adam Gase.
The 21-year-old expanded on some of those thoughts again on Saturday, as well as the coaching staff Gase has built around him in an interview with SNY's Jeane Coakley.
"The cool thing about him is he brings so much passion and energy toward the game," Darnold said. "Gregg Williams does the same thing on defense. So I think that will be very contagious for a lot of our guys and it will be good for them to see that."
Darnold also added that Gase wants his players to communicate with him, too, which he believes is a major key to success.
"When there's a bunch of communication in the same building and everybody is on the same page, good things are going to happen," Darnold said. "I'm really excited."
With the Super Bowl one week away, the Jets quarterback has also finally had time to relax a little and step back from the game for the first time since his college season ended.
But he has also been able to take that time to reflect on his rookie season, in which he finished with 2,865 yards, 17 touchdowns, 15 interceptions in 13 games.
"It's awesome to reflect on a season that was up and down but when I look back on it I think I learned a lot," he said. "Learned a lot of lessons but feel like got better as well."
One of the main things he learned was managing the pace of the game and being a leader.
"When I came back form that injury - during that injury I really got to see Josh McCown do his thing, how he's leading and doing walkthroughs and helping guys through practice," he said. "Just the way he was leading, I was able to see that and understand exactly what he was talking about and just put that to work the last few games."