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Former NFL star running back Le’Veon Bell made quite the accusation against his former New York Jets head coach, Adam Gase.
Gase, now the passing game coordinator under Jim Harbaugh with the Los Angeles Chargers, did not fare well in New York, owning a 9-23 record before being fired after the 2020 season. Bell and Gase both joined the team in 2019, when they went 7-9, but flamed out the next year.
Bell appeared on the “Respectful” podcast with Justin Laboy, where he blasted Gase, calling him the “dumbest coach ever.” But that wasn’t the worst that was said.
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Bell accused Gase of using cocaine in his office.
Laboy asked Bell to move on after he said Gase “did a lot of s— in that office that coaches shouldn’t do.” Then Bell said Gase used “white girl,” a slang term for cocaine, and then made a snorting gesture.
“I’m like, bro, I don’t just go to the office and see my coach [snorting cocaine]”, Bell explained to Laboy. “We’re about to go to practice, bro. We got training in 28 minutes. We got the review bro. Is that what you’re doing in here?”
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Bell doubled down, saying he saw Gase do it himself.
“It wasn’t just one time. That’s what it did though. Everybody knows that. That’s what he did. But it was just crazy to me to see him do it. I heard all the stories and s—.”
The Chargers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Pakinomist Digital.
Le’Veon Bell of the New York Jets runs with the football against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on October 11, 2020. The Cardinals defeated the Jets 30-10. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Bell’s final words there suggest he heard from others that Gase was allegedly using the illegal substance, though he didn’t go into detail on that front.
Before Gase was hired by the Jets to be their next head coach, he held the same position with the Miami Dolphins from 2016-18, going 23-25. His best year was 2016 when the Dolphins went 10-6.
Since being fired by the Jets, Gase was not on any NFL coaching staff, but consulted from time to time. His father-in-law, Joe Vitt, works as a defensive assistant for the Denver Broncos, whom he visited during the 2023 and 2025 offseasons to provide insight. Gase also spent time with The 33rd Team as a strategic advisor with Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia in 2024.
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Gase’s time in the NFL began with the Detroit Lions in 2003, where he worked as a scouting assistant before a promotion to offensive assistant in 2005. He eventually worked his way up to quarterbacks coach in 2007 before a quick stint with the San Francisco 49ers the following season.
Gase then spent much of his coaching history with the Broncos from 2009-14, serving the last three seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator before the Dolphins gave him a chance as head coach.
Meanwhile, Bell’s career didn’t pan out the way he hoped after his contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers resulted in him missing the entire 2018 campaign. He eventually signed with the Jets, but after just two games into the 2020 season, he was released.
Head coach Adam Gase and running back Le’Veon Bell of the New York Jets speak before their game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., on Dec. 12, 2019. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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In 2019, his first season back in the NFL, he rushed for 789 yards with three touchdowns while catching 66 passes for 461 yards and a score. Bell saw time with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but never committed to a team before retiring from football in 2021.
Bell was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro with the Steelers, who took him 48th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft out of Michigan State. He rushed for 5,336 yards with 42 total touchdowns across his five seasons in Pittsburgh.
