Adam Gases Eyes

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Adam Gase's Eyes refers to jokes and image macros mocking New York Jets head coach Adam Gase's wide-eyed stare during his January 14, 2019 introductory press conference. His darting eyes and twitching head movements were turned into videos, photoshops, and viral tweets within hours of the presser ending.

Overview

Adam Gase's Eyes is a meme built around the facial expressions New York Jets head coach Adam Gase made during his welcoming press conference on January 14, 20191. His unusually wide stare, combined with sharp head movements and darting glances, made the presser look off-kilter, and Twitter users started clipping it within minutes2.

The format spans still photos, video clips, and photoshopped edits. Common versions crop tight on Gase's eyes with caption jokes about caffeine intake, hypervigilance, or the Jets brainwashing their new coach. Video versions often composite moving objects or emoji into the footage so his eyes appear to be tracking them4.

How It Spread

By the afternoon of January 14, the jokes were everywhere. Twitter account @MySportsUpdate posted a photo series captioned 'Adam Gase has his eyes on the prize. Literally,' pulling roughly 2,300 retweets and 9,800 likes, while @JoeyLangone spun the format into a bit about Gase looking like a murderer, hitting around 865 retweets and 4,000 likes4.

A widely shared edit came from Twitter user @ManInTheHoody, who photoshopped a taco emoji into the press conference footage so Gase's eyes appeared to follow it around the room, landing around 7,100 retweets and 16,000 likes. Sports broadcaster Rich Eisen amplified the joke by tweeting the New York Post's next-day front page, which ran a photo of Gase under the headline 'Vision Quest.'

Major outlets picked it up fast. USA Today's For The Win wrote that it took only five seconds for Gase to become a meme after he entered the room2. When Michael Kay asked Gase about the memes on his ESPN Radio show later that day, the coach said, 'I don't even know what that is. I don't have Twitter, I don't have Instagram, I don't look at the internet, I don't really watch TV, I watch movies'3.

How to Use This Meme

The format typically pairs a tight shot or freeze frame of Gase's wide-eyed expression with a caption about intense focus, paranoia, or being wired on caffeine2. Video edits often composite objects, emoji, or moving elements into the press conference footage so his darting eyes appear to track them, matching the rhythm of his real head movements.

Frequently Asked Questions