Fellow BYU quarterback Steve Young believes the Jets’ inexperienced coaching staff took a major hit with the tragic loss of Greg Knapp.
After an entire offseason marveling at the New York Jets coaching staff philosophy, Steve Young seems to have changed his mind.
On last Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Kay Show, Young, said the Jets are “naked” in front of their 1-4 start, being critical of the team who took his protege for the first time.
Young, a former BYU quarterback who spent the entire draft process gushing about Zach Wilson, pointed to the absence of Greg Knapp—who tragically passed away in a bike accident in July—as the main reason for his distrust with the Jets’ plan to develop Wilson.
According to Young, Knapp would be the guy to provide balance to an extremely young offensive staff. Greg Knapp coached Young in San Francisco and many other NFL quarterbacks over the years:
“He was around for a long time, he coached me, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick, Matt Ryan… he knew the NFL”, Young said on the Tuesday edition of The Michael Kay Show.
“If It was my son, I would want him to be coached by Greg Knapp,” Young said.
However, with Knapp’s tragic loss, the flaws in Jets’ plan to groom their young quarterback were exposed, Young says:
“That just now exposed a plan that was not in place until Greg was heading back to New York for training camp,” Young said.
“I would say there was a plan that I felt comfortable with, with Greg there, but became very uncomfortable when Gregg had his tragic accident.”
Without Knapp, a rounded coach who would have an important locker room role, Young believes the Jets are not in a good spot:
“They are naked right now, as far as facing their challenges and crawling your way out of trouble.”
The lack of an experienced, rounded backup quarterback also became important without the presence of a veteran coach, according to Young.
ICYMI: @SteveYoungQB talked about Zach Wilson's development, and what's missing
LISTEN: https://t.co/y9DAFfeu30 pic.twitter.com/0KsB77Qnde
— The Michael Kay Show (@TMKSESPN) October 12, 2021
All things considered, Steve Young has a fair point.
Just like in every job in life, experience is key in football.
Doing something for the first time is always rough, and having a rounded professional by the side who has already been through the bumps along the way helps.
Although Mike LaFleur and Zach Wilson could use the aid of a more experienced coach like Greg Knapp right now, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Both Jets quarterback and offensive coordinator can crawl out of trouble together, which would help build and solidify a relationship that Jets fans hope will last for years.
The Michael Kay Show (TMKS), co-hosted by New York Yankees television play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay and New York Rangers pre and post-game radio host Don La Greca, airs weekdays at 3 p.m. ET on the New York City radio station WEPN-FM 98.7 ESPN New York.
Even though he was brought in late to replace Knapp after his unfortunate death, isn’t Matt Cavanaugh supposed to be filling that role now? Cavanaugh has 24 years of experience and while he hasn’t coached some of the greats, he has gotten production out of some lesser QBs. While losing Knapp was a tragic and shocking loss which put behind the sticks sort of speak, Cavanaugh should have been able to take up some of the stack, in helping the young QBs and young coaching staff.
Yes, this is why they brought in Cavanaugh. I never thought this was the answer, I’m not a fan of Cavanaugh’s coaching ability. In fairness, he never worked with this staff before and it may still be difficult for him to fit in and find his role. The loss of Knapp is a HUGE problem now since he was not only supposed to be a coach for Wilson but a coach for LaFleur as well. I don’t know how they fix this at this point but it’s a problem. Gary Kubiak would have been a better choice if he was even available. It’s an option they should explore next year.