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Top NY Jets HC candidates are about conformity, not experience

Aaron Glenn, Brian Flores, Joe Brady, Liam Cohen, Rex Ryan, New York Jets Head Coach Candidates
Aaron Glenn, Brian Flores, Joe Brady, Liam Cohen, Rex Ryan, New York Jets Head Coach Candidates, Getty Images

New York Jets Chairman Woody Johnson should ask each head coaching candidate one question at the outset of each interview: “In your opinion, where did we as an organization go wrong in the last several years?”

Anybody who provides an immediate and pronounced opinion, delivered in a blustery and blowhard fashion (“This Bud’s for you,” Rex Ryan), should automatically be disqualified. Any candidate who doesn’t at least start with the obvious, “Well, considering I wasn’t in the building, and I’m not too familiar with the inner workings of the organization, but here’s what I think from afar,” tone, should be booted with gusto.

There’s no question that Woody must seek an objective and measured individual who isn’t afraid to showcase emotions when necessary. He must be a true football leader who’s intent on making things uncomfortable for every player in the locker room, coach on the field, and individual in the front office.

Growth is only possible when humans are placed in uncomfortable positions, so the willingness to challenge those he’s tasked with leading is an obvious top-candidate quality. Once the candidate clears the “blowhard” test, mentioning a “lack of football leadership” is necessary.

Saying that is all well and good, but attempting to identify a leader within the span of a singular interview—coupled with additional interviews and supportive evidence of the sort—is no easy task. That’s why a measured yet confident approach to answering “What went wrong?” can provide great insight.

Part two of the equation is perhaps even more important.

Part two of this formula is what flies in the face of Jets fandom’s current wish.

Part two of what makes for the next perfect New York Jets head coach has been missing in Florham Park, NJ indefinitely—at least since the National Football League drastically altered its course in a “post-Bill Belichick‘s defensive backs mugging Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne” world.

The top New York Jets head coaching candidate must be willing to conform to the modern game.

The NFL drastically altered football with its emphasis on illegal contact and defensive holding in the wake of Peyton Manning’s playoff struggles. Belichick being Belichick—having his defensive backs absolutely mug Manning’s receivers in the mid-2000s—marked the beginning of where football is today.

Add an extra layer of player (especially quarterback) protection in the wake of the concussion topic, and the game we enjoy now is worlds apart from that of your father’s game.

Although it took a bit of time for the rules to completely alter the game, the league finally reached its goal about a decade later. With nearly every rule change favoring the offense, the top 10 all-time passing leaders nearly exclusively feature modern quarterbacks. (Matt Ryan is the eighth leading passer of all time, for crying out loud.)

Interestingly, the more the NFL changed, the harder it was for a defensive-minded head coach like Rex Ryan to field success. Rex undoubtedly did tremendous things with the Eric ManginiMike Tannenbaum teams in 2009 and 2010, but the league continuously moved further away from him—while simultaneously moving closer to a pass-happy man like Andy Reid (a man who was constantly criticized in your father’s version of the NFL two decades ago).

The rub here is how Jets fans currently feel, which contrasts with what makes for the perfect head coaching candidate. Look no further than the aforementioned Rex Ryan, who’s surely sipping his Bud.

The emotionally charged Rex is insanely one of the hottest coaches in Jets land right now. Social media polls consistently show over half the fanbase pining to have him back on the sideline.

The only thing I can say is, “Hey, I get it.” There’s only so much thinking humans can do when finding themselves beaten down to a bloody pulp for nearly a decade and a half. At some point, desperation will override common sense.

The reason why the average Jets fan is hot to trot for Sexy Rexy travels beyond pure desperation and nostalgia, however. He also checks a critical box that Jets fans demand as a head coach candidate requirement …

Experience.

Whether it’s the infinitely tortured Joe Benigno or the casual fan from afar, the most important bucket in the Jets’ next headman is experience. Fans are simply done with Woody taking a chance on the first-time hot coordinator.

“I mean, look at recent history,” they say.

First-time head coach Todd Bowles took over for Rex Ryan. Although he enjoyed a 10-6 season in his rookie campaign, his final three years were disastrous—finishing with Sam Darnold‘s rough-looking rookie season.

Ok, Adam Gase wasn’t a first-time head coach, but fans don’t include him in the mix because it would be inconvenient. Plus, it’s Adam Gase, my friends; why even bring up such horrors of yesteryear?

Last and potentially least is Robert Saleh, whose “All Gas, No Brake” mantra hyped up an entire fanbase.

Saleh, another hot coordinator candidate, came in with energy. He said most of the right things and conveyed energy in a way that had Jets fans fall in love with the man. He acted the part that made fans feel like the Jets wouldn’t take crap from anybody any longer.

In reality, Saleh represented yet another in a long line of Jets head coaches who were simply unwilling to conform to today’s brand of football.

Game after game, week after week, Saleh deployed a conservative game plan that featured the defense and focused on the quarterback limiting mistakes. Zach Wilson said as much on numerous occasions, making reference to the idea that he must “manage the game” and “limit mistakes.”

Sure, that vision squeezed out a few extra wins here and there, resulting in back-to-back 7-10 seasons in Saleh’s final full two years, but it traveled down a familiar road in Northern New Jersey. You know that road, the one that leads quarterbacks to Nowheresville with the confidence of a pre-metamorphosis Cinderella.

Just take a quick glance at Kevin O’Connell’s play-calling in the Minnesota Vikings’ 27-25 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. With the Packers cutting the lead to two points late in the fourth quarter, Minnesota got the ball back with a little over two minutes remaining. Green Bay had all three timeouts (plus the two-minute warning).

Not only did O’Connell throw the ball three of the four plays, but he did so with Sam Darnold at the helm—the same quarterback who had recently thrown an ugly interception. Granted, Darnold and the Vikings didn’t fare too well against the Detroit Lions in Week 18, but hey … how much magic can you ask of one head coach?

At the end of the day, O’Connell took the Jets’ damaged goods and turned him into a quarterback. He did so because he genuinely understands today’s brand of football.

More importantly, can anybody imagine Robert Saleh, Todd Bowles, or Rex Ryan allowing Sam Darnold to throw the ball three times in four plays in this type of situation?

No chance.

As opposed to understanding and conforming to what today’s brand of ball is about, those individuals—while with the Jets—would have played it safe and trusted their beloved defense to get it done. The insane part is this: The NFL has changed so much that no defense can ever be asked to win the game for a team.

I don’t care if Ray Lewis is the Mike and Ronnie Lott is the free safety; it’s just an impossibility in today’s NFL.

This league is now about offensive aggression and forward-thinking play-calling. It’s more akin to a finesse-driven game of chess than a hardheaded physical contest that goes to the more bullish and brave.

“All Gas, No Brake” is the antithesis of what today’s game is all about. “Ground and Pound” is an idea that experienced extinction around the same time Peyton Manning retired.

Much to my personal chagrin, football is much less about physicality and well-rounded offensive thoughts. But hey, that’s just the world we’re now witnessing, and in my opinion, a great percentage of football people are either ignorant to that idea or so stubborn that they refuse to adapt.

Don’t get me wrong: experience is a nice thing. If all things were equal, I think the Jets would benefit from having an experienced head coach walk through the doors. At the same time, if all things are equal, they desperately need a football leader who understands how differently he must coach from Saleh, Bowles, and Ryan before him. (Yes, it took Tom Brady and Bruce Arians for Bowles to truly figure it out.)

The Jets fan who prioritizes experience above all else would lead everybody to believe Doug Pederson is a great candidate, whereas Ben Johnson is not. Valuing experience and nothing else suggests Mike McCarthy and Ron Rivera should be top-three options, while Liam Coen or Joe Brady should not even get a look.

Worse yet, the beaten-down Jets fan who feeds off nostalgia and is dumbfounded as to how to think is currently campaigning for Rex Ryan while dismissing Aaron Glenn. After all, one man has head coaching experience in this league.

By no means should the defensive-minded coach be eliminated from candidacy, but he better convey a clear understanding of how today’s game is played. He must have a firm plan about how to stick the leadership landing and how his team would conform to today’s football arena.

Don’t completely ignore experience. Instead, realize it’s more about conforming to today’s extremely different game and intentionally making your players uncomfortable.

If Woody Johnson and the New York Jets take this approach, they’ll choose the right leader who understands today’s NFL—something the Jets haven’t had since this game fundamentally changed at its core.

Bringing in the guy with experience yet unwilling to conform is inviting the same old stuff that keeps everybody depressed and beaten down.

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