Getty Ex-NFL running back Le'Veon Bell looks on with the New York Jets in 2019.
New York Jets fans do not remember running back Le’Veon Bell very fondly, but most would probably welcome back the free agent bust in a heartbeat over ex-NYJ head coach Adam Gase — who was the man in charge during Bell’s tenure.
During a May 26 podcast spot with Barstool Sports program “STEEL HERE,” Bell joined co-hosts Kevin Adams and “Jersey Jerry” to discuss the Pittsburgh Steelers portion of his NFL career. Having said that, the former star RB couldn’t help but bring up the Jets and Gase during the interview.
“Head coaches make a huge difference… As soon as I get to New York I find that out like the first week” –@LeVeonBell on @_STEELHERE
“Bro, we get to New York and that’s when I instantly find out [that] head coaches make a huge difference — like, a huge difference,” Bell told the show as both co-hosts laughed. “As soon as I get to New York, I find that out like the first week.”
Jersey Jerry then asked Bell if he “instantly knew he f***** up,” to which Bell responded that he “knew it was going to be an uphill battle.” Later, the ex-playmaker added that although the “team wasn’t that great,” he felt like Steelers HC Mike Tomlin could have won nine games with the same roster as Gase.
Under Gase (and Bell), the Jets went a combined 9-23 (7-14 before Bell was released).
Ex-Jets’ Le’Veon Bell Implies Adam Gase Set Sam Darnold Up to Fail
As the interview went on, Bell also excused his former quarterback Sam Darnold a bit, implying that Gase set him up to fail with the Jets.
“It [got to the] point where it was like, Sam Darnold don’t even know the actual protection — or where the line is protecting — because he’s so confused about our offense because the coach is confusing him,” Bell voiced.
He continued: “I dealt with that whole year… the play-calling was terrible, it was a lot of things that were not going the way that [they] obviously should have been going, but [I wasn’t] about to talk to the media [about it] — I just ate it. I trained hard, thinking I just got to get better, so I’m going to go back and train hard as hell. I’m going to go back and do what I was doing in Pittsburgh, training three times a day… making sure I was in shape.”
Come back, I’m at three percent body fat [in 2020],” Bell rounded out the story. “Alright, I know I’m in shape, this time I’m ready… Week 1, we playing the [Buffalo] Bills.”
“You had six carries [that game],” Adams finished the sentence for him. To end the clip, Bell just nodded and said, “there ya go.”
Dysfunctional doesn’t even begin to describe the Jets organization under Gase — but that’s not to say Bell was a huge help in New York. For now, fans will just be happy that the franchise has moved on to bigger and better things.
Le’Veon Bell Is Not Planning to Return to NFL
Bell has gotten into boxing since putting the NFL “in [his] rear view.” During an interview with Sporting News’ Karisa Maxwell on April 21, he confirmed that boxing is “my new passion.”
✌️@LeVeonBell tells SN’s @KarisaMaxwell that his football chapter is closed for good.
“There hasn’t been a time where I was like — ‘dang bro, I wish I could go play football now.’ It’s been — ‘damn, I want to get better [at boxing]’ — every time,” Bell explained.
He went on: “Even if I have a tough day, or it’s really hard — [and] there’s been a lot of days where it’s like that — it makes me want to get better, and that’s why I take it and use it for motivation. Football, I got that in my rear view. Like, I’m not really worried about football right now just because of the fact that, I can’t be if I’m worried about boxing.”
“That’s where my focus [has] been,” Bell concluded at the time.