Jets acting owner Christopher Johnson chose new coach Adam Gase over incumbent general manager Mike Maccagnan in a four-month power struggle.

So regardless of who Johnson hires to be his next GM, it’s clear Gase’s influence in the organization has been elevated.

“I guess the question I would have is: Based on what?” said Mike Westhoff, the pioneering former Jets special teams coordinator. “It’s almost like the Giants were wearing the dunce hat in the city, and all of a sudden, the Jets came along and took it.”

Westhoff is skeptical about Johnson handing Gase this much power, so early in his time as Jets coach, because Westhoff isn’t particularly impressed with Gase.

“I’m really curious as to what he’s earned,” Westhoff told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview Saturday. “Look at his record in Miami.”

The past three seasons, Gase went 23-26 with the Dolphins, including 0-1 in the playoffs and 13-19 over the past two years.

Plus, Westhoff doesn’t like how Gase handled his biggest game as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator — the 43-8 Super Bowl loss to Seattle, after the 2013 season.

“I can still picture [how] Denver had a straight five-man protection and Seattle [was] running five million things, and [the Broncos] never adjusted,” Westhoff said. "I thought it was a terrible offensive game plan, and Seattle killed them. I was wondering what made him so good on offense, because I sure didn’t see it that night.

“I’m not knocked out on the guy. What do you want me to say? I don’t know everything there is to know about him, but what I do know, I’m not knocked out. Maybe he’ll be fine. Maybe he is a heck of a coach. What I’ve seen, how does he carry the weight to have an argument with the general manager? I guess I’m not convinced.”

Still, Westhoff thinks there is plenty of draw to the Jets’ GM vacancy.

“The general manager job at the New York Jets is a hell of a job,” he said. “I don’t see it as being negative. I thought the Jets had done really positive things in the offseason. I like the quarterback [Sam Darnold]. I think he’s going to be good. Leonard Williams is a top player. I love the safeties [Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye]. They’ve got some good football players on that team.

“If I were a Jets fan, I’d be excited. I would expect to be fighting to get in the playoffs. I would be very disappointed if that didn’t happen. New England, they’re a good football team, but I don’t think they’re a great football team. If I were a Jets fan, I would expect to be competitive in that division.”

Westhoff is now retired again after coming out of a four-year retirement to work with the Saints’ special teams the past two seasons. He started coaching in the NFL in 1982, so he has worked around plenty of assistant coaches. And while he isn’t sold on Gase, he likes the staff Gase has assembled, especially defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Still, the timing of Maccagnan’s firing surprised Westhoff.

“It’s disappointing that it would happen now,” he said. "I don’t understand. If you were going to make a move on a general manager, I would’ve thought they would’ve been done at the same time [as coach Todd Bowles was fired], and you start totally from scratch. It shocks me that something would happen now. I don’t quite get that.

“It doesn’t surprise me that there would be some differences between a coaching staff and an administration staff. You would think that they could be worked out. And if they couldn’t be worked out, you’d think you’d sure as hell know it before this time of the year. That’s what I’m surprised at. I would hope that [Johnson] would really have a firm grasp as to why he’s doing this, and make sure that he feels very, very strongly about Gase’s ability to pull this all off.”

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.