Adam Gase of the Jets breaks the silence, saying that it had nothing to do with the firing of general manager Mike Maccagnan in a "power struggle"

Jets coach Adam Gase made his first comments on Monday about the dismissal of general manager Mike Maccagnan by the team, which lost an apparent four-month fight for Gase.

Gase was asked to react to the Maccagnan firing – and whether he agreed or disagreed with the idea that he had something to do with it.

"I do not agree with that, regarding a power struggle," Gase told reporters on Monday. "Because whoever is hired [as the new GM] will have the same role – control of the list. I will coach the football team. That's what I'm going to do. Nothing changes in this structure. "

Gase said he was "surprised" when interim owner Christopher Johnson told him Tuesday night that Maccagnan had been fired. The decision was announced Wednesday.

"That's what it was," said Gase. "It's the owner. In that case, [expletive] as it happens all the time. It happened to me last year [when the Dolphins fired Gase]. I think that's it. I mean, I work for [Johnson]. This is how we are aligned: the GM and the head coach are accountable to the owner. It's like that. "

It was not expected that Gase would tackle Maccagnan's shot on Monday. He had to wait for his press conference on Thursday, after the Jets' first team training session (and the third OTA general session) to resolve the issue.

But Gase decided that he still wanted to say something on Monday, a day before the Jets started the OTAs. Gase answered this question about the dismissal of Maccagnan. He referred the questions to Thursday's press conference.

While Gase (now acting director general) has not yet run a training camp, the Jets are looking for a replacement for Maccagnan, who has been in post since 2015.

Eagles team vice president Joe Douglas is considered the favorite because he has already had a relationship with Gase and could probably work well with him – something Maccagnan could not do. Gase and Douglas worked together for one season, 2015, with the Bears. Gase was the offensive coordinator and director of screening at Douglas College. They are friends.

Although Johnson said that the new CEO would have the same full control over the 53 men list that Maccagnan had, it's pretty clear that Gase has at least a heightened influence on staffing decisions in the organization , since it will help to choose the new CEO – and since GM's team building outlook will surely align closely with Gase's.

Darryl Slater can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.