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Reports begin rolling in on New York Jets head coach targets

Eric Bieniemy
(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

Joe Douglas, Christopher Johnson, and the New York Jets have wasted no time targeting candidates to replace Adam Gase.

With Adam Gase’s locker cleaned out mere hours after the season finale loss to the New England Patriots, the New York Jets are beginning to line up interviews for their vacant head coaching position.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Jets and Houston Texans have requested to interview Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

Eberflus, 50, is in his third season as Indy’s DC. From 2018-20, he led the Colts defense to 11th, 19th and seventh in DVOA. Prior to joining the Colts, Eberflus spent seven seasons (2011-17) as the Dallas Cowboys linebackers coach.

Keep in mind that the Jets’ assistant general manager, Rex Hogan, was the Vice President of Player Personnel for Indianapolis from 2017-18, so the connection is there.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Woody Johnson will not be involved in the head coaching search.

In addition to Eberflus, Schefter reports that the Jets are expected to request permission to interview Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

We have already covered Smith quite a bit here at Jet X. Ben Blessington broke down his impressive resume here, while Sam Crnic broke down film of Smith’s offense here.

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The 38-year-old coordinator has been working his way up in Nashville since 2011, elevating from defensive quality control coach, to offensive line/tight ends coach, to assistant tight ends coach, and to tight ends coach before moving up to offensive coordinator in 2019. Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry have become stars under his leadership, improving massively upon their career production prior to Smith’s promotion. Tennessee’s offense ranked sixth in DVOA in 2019 and fourth in 2020.

Schefter reports that the Jets, along with the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, have officially requested to interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

Bieniemy, 51, played running back in the NFL from 1991-99, picking up 1,589 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Bengals, Chargers, and Eagles. He was the offensive coordinator at the University of Colorado from 2011-12 before joining Kansas City as a running backs coach in 2013, a position he held until 2017. Since 2018, he has been the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, assisting Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes on the way to three straight seasons in the top-three of offensive DVOA.

The search is on. It’s Joe Douglas’ time to shine.

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