Adam Gase, head coach and, as of Wednesday, interim general manager of the New York Jets, spoke for the first time Monday since New York fired general manager Mike Maccagnan last week.
Gase denied to reporters that Maccagnan's axing was the result of a power struggle between the tenured GM and the first-year head coach.
"I disagree as far as [it being a] power struggle," Gase told NFL Network's Kimberly Jones. "[Christopher Johnson] is the owner. He told me [about Maccagnan's firing]. I work for him."
Johnson had toed a similar line when the owner explained the abrupt firing to reporters last week, saying, "This was not one person or another winning a power struggle. This was completely my decision."
Gase also parroted Johnson's response that the organization's structure, in which Gase and the GM report to ownership separately, will remain the same.
"Nothing's changing in that structure," Gase told Jones, saying that he does not desire control of the 53-man roster.
Maccagnan was fired last Wednesday after spending four-plus seasons with the Jets. It was a surprising move, to say the least, given that Maccagnan had survived the firing of coach Todd Bowles, assisted in the search for and hiring of Gase and spearheaded New York's free agency and draft.
After rumors of a rift between Gase and Maccagnan had sprouted around the draft, the two denied them in separate pressers, with the coach saying the report "pisses me off."
Just over a week later after making those comments, Gase is the interim GM and will "assist" in the search of New York's next GM.
"In this business, s--- like this happens all the time," Gase told reporters Monday, per the New York Daily News.
Gase will elaborate more about the shock front-office decision on Thursday after the team's third day of organized team activities.
