There are many candidates, but who’s the right one? Today we rank the New York Jets’ potential head coaches for 2021 and beyond.
On a Thursday in Florham Park, NJ, Adam Gase‘s team moved through just another normal practice. After a quick team session lasting several plays, the New York Jets broke out into positionals.
The defensive backs went their way to work on a little situational coverage, the offensive linemen decided to get after it with some half-line looks, and the running backs worked the gauntlet.
The big fellas. pic.twitter.com/gqn0LKsfNe
— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) December 3, 2020
There was just one exception: Frank Gore.
Gore, 37, is an old running back. That’s no secret, and the man himself would have no problem admitting that fact. Due to his age, at least once a week, the man watches practice instead of participating.
As understandable as that is, it presents a major problem. Suddenly, one man is being treated much differently than the rest of the team. This is not ideal.
Just think about the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady dynamic. Over the years, the two of them have admitted the idea that Brady would never be treated differently than any one of the 53 players on the depth chart. Brady’s even encouraged tongue lashings in the effort to showcase that he’s just one of the guys.
The importance of that is tough to see, but it’s as important as anything in football.
Perhaps Gase understands that. Perhaps not. The fact that Gore is being treated differently is, in fact, the reality of the situation.
Gore’s off-days are just one more reason to think Joe Douglas and the Jets organization will make a change at season’s end. By no means is this Gore situation a final nail in the coffin; it’s one bad look out of many for the current head coach.
Whether his specialty is offense or defense, the next man in charge for the Jets must have the innate feel for commanding a locker room that Gase has not quite shown during his tenure in New Jersey.
Today, we rank the top 10 potential head coaching candidates that could represent exactly what the Jets will be looking for.
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I like your top two choice for HC of the Jets but few of the rest. Yes, the Jets need a complete HC who will coach the whole team, but first and foremost, they need a HC who will focus on fixing the offense and making sure that Lawrence succeeds. If Lawrence doesn’t succeed, nothing else matters. The Jets’ D has had too much focus the last 10 years, and the offense has been an afterthought. More than likely, any defensive coach is going to focus primarily on fixing the D, rather than building the offense around Trevor. In addition, they would probably favor trying to win with their D, and having a more conservative offense to limit TOs. That’s not what a young QB or the Jets need. That would be a mistake. Most of the time, the Jets have not had even a basic NFL-caliber offense. That has to change. If they get Lawrence, he needs to be free to learn and develop, not be handcuffed, and be made to be too careful. He is already good about not turning the ball over.
So imo all the DCs should be removed from the list imo. Second of all, Jim Harbaugh is an ass and wears out his welcome quickly. We don’t need that. He hasn’t developed any of the Michigan QBs, so that would remove that reason for hiring him.
One of the Jets’ problems is that they’ve had no stability. Stability can only be achieved with the right hire who then can and will stay. Therefore, the Jets need someone younger, creative, dynamic, and stable. Every candidate in my top 5 is under 50, so could potentially be with the Jets for 10-15 years.
Greg Roman has had different types of QBs and has adjusted his offense for each. The same goes for Brian Daboll, and both have had success wherever they’ve coached. Daboll has coached on both sides of the ball, and he’s done much more than just focus on QBs running the ball. Both should be in the top 5 imo. Joe Brady doesn’t deserve to be on the list. He’s only 31. He hasn’t had enough coaching experience. This is his first year as a coordinator and was only a WR and Passing Game Coordinator for 1 year at LSU. I think he would have problems putting a staff together, and I’m not sure any older veteran would listen to him.
Campbell and Fitzgerald have zero NFL experience, so putting together an NFL CS could prove difficult, and Fitzgerald has only coached D, so he’s out imo. I’d love to have Riley, but I don’t think he’d even consider the Jets even with Trevor Lawrence. IMO who the HC would hire as OC and QB Coach is just as important as who the HC is. That’s what scares me about Campbell. I really like the idea of having someone who has been a HC before so they’re not learning on the job, but both Daboll and Roman have been around a long time and coached under some excellent HCs, so they should have a good idea of how to do things.
Bieniemy belongs in the top 5. I share your concern about his not having called the plays, and how much is him, and how much is Reid, Mahomes, Kelce, and Hill. Still, he deserves an interview.
5 candidates are enough. I’d rank the top 5 this way:
1. Brian Daboll
2. Matt Campbell
3. Arthur Smith
4. Greg Roman
5. Eric Bieniemy
If I needed a 6th candidate, it would be Pete Carmichael, Jr. He’s under 50 and has coached under Sean Payton for 12 years and has probably learned a lot. I like that he has been a QB Coach, WR Coach, TE Coach and OL Coach. Another possible 6th candidate would be PJ Fleck. He’s turned around a couple of programs and is young, but like Campbell has no NFL experience.
Comes down to Sir Arthur & Brady. Can’t believe a college guy ( Matt Campbell ) would come to the Jets, unless Lawrence is a bigger draw than I could ever imagine. Brady is the pick, Very untypical of the Jets, pair him with Dan Quinn at DC ( a Jersey guy ) would restore fans faith in this franchise , genuine excitement.