Since Bill Parcells stepped down nearly 25 years ago, the Jets have leaned toward first-time head coaches. Woody Johnson‘s ownership tenure has featured seven HC hires; only one has been a retread. As they navigate another disappointing season and the slew of negative press that has come with it, the Jets look to be aiming in different direction.
Gang Green wants experience at both the HC and GM spots, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Although second-chance GMs are not overly common in today’s NFL (only two — Tom Telesco, Trent Baalke — are currently in place), retread HCs are.
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Thus far in Johnson’s tenure, only one (Adam Gase) signed on to be the Jets’ HC. And that came while Christopher Johnson was serving as acting owner. One experienced HC candidate, however, has thrown his hat in the ring already. Eager to return to the league, ESPN’s Rex Ryan — the Jets’ HC from 2009-14 — wants to return to the Jets. Ryan has not coached since the Bills fired him late in his second season.
With Woody Johnson still mentioned as returning to his role as ambassador to the United Kingdom during the second Donald Trump administration, Christopher may need to play a central role in another hire. Christopher was in charge when the Jets hired Gase (2019) and Robert Saleh (2021), but Woody will lead the searches now. The Jets want to launch their GM search now, per Jones, though they cannot interview any HC or GM candidates currently on NFL staffs until the regular season ends. For the most part, that will stall searches.
Although Jones adds the Jets are likely to have an advisor helping steer these hires without going as far as using a search firm, the obvious question of HC/GM aspirants’ willingness to work for the franchise comes up. Woody Johnson impeded since-fired GM Joe Douglas at many stops. He was believed to have blocked a substantial effort to add a quarterback following Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear last year; a year later, the owner suggested Saleh’s staff bench the four-time MVP after Week 4. Johnson also stonewalled Douglas on a Jerry Jeudy trade and meddled on the Bryce Huff and Haason Reddick contract fronts.
This has not been a good year for Johnson, whose team will undoubtedly extend the longest active NFL playoff drought to 14 seasons soon. A habit of listening to non-football staffers has added to Johnson’s list of shortcomings, and Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline adds the 77-year-old owner is not well regarded in most aspects around the league. The consensus in the aftermath of the Douglas ouster has been for the criticized owner to hire a presence to check his meddling, but staffers around the NFL do not expect Jets ownership to cede that much power.
As Douglas had expressed a disenchantment with Johnson for years, per Pauline, the Jets may need to dole out a higher salary to replace their six-year GM. The team is believed to be prepared to pay well, Jones adds, but it certainly would surprise if this job was at the top of most candidates’ lists. Rodgers boosting the Jets to a worse draft pick would also hinder the next set of Jet decision-makers, though it is now viewed as likely the team sits its high-profile QB — via IR or a straight-up benching — soon ahead of an expected 2025 divorce.
Woody Johnson’s anticipated departure for an ambassador post would stand to help mitigate the meddling issues that have resurfaced in recent days, but Christopher Johnson is not exactly a highly regarded football presence, either. The Jets will be tasked with adding another quarterback to lead what is still viewed as a talented roster.
The latter component will be a top selling point for the Johnsons, who have failed on the QB front with both veterans (Rodgers, Brett Favre) and with every rookie prospect — save for some early-career Mark Sanchez work — since Chad Pennington. After a wildly disappointing season, how Jets ownership goes about convincing quality HC and GM candidates to sign up will be one of the offseason carousels’ top storylines.
Easy: Ron Rivera, who has been both HC & GM in the past. Best way to extend the mediocrity window & Jets Way
The jets haven’t been mediocre in a while tbh. Their fan base would probably welcome that the way things continue to go for them from a winning perspective. Idk if they’ll ever get rid of the dysfunction
Haven’t been mediocre in awhile? The Jets had back to back 7-10 seasons, picking outside the top 10 both times. That’s too mediocre.
Thank God they had two back to back losing seasons where they picked outside the top-10 in recent memory. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2010 which is the longest streak going in the NFL and tied for longest in any professional American sports league. Looks pretty far from mediocre to me (actually that’s awful), but hey if that works for you keep at it.
I’m not commenting on the state of the team currently or what I think about the franchise, I’m just addressing your comment, so there’s no need to move the goalposts. You said they haven’t been mediocre in awhile. Mediocre: “of moderate quality; not very good.” 7-10 is, by definition, mediocre.
The issue since 2010 is that they’ve been too mediocre too often. They needed to be worse or better. The worst thing for a losing franchise is picking outside the top 10 repeatedly. They missed out on many potential franchise QBs by simply not being bad enough. Would they have developed them? Who knows. They never had a chance to outside of Zach Wilson.
Robert Irsay at his worst never went to the old-boy network.
Hire me so I can implement my two QB system <3
“But are you… experienced?”
– Jimi Hendrix
At this point just do it yourself Woody.
Paging Mike Vrabel.
Who used to play for Belichick on the Foxboro Cheatriots. Next!
Woody Johnson seriously needs to look at stealing Reggie McKenzie from the Dolphins. Reggie played and knows what it takes to win on the field. He earned his front office experience over 18 years with the Packers and was 2016 NFL Executive of the Year. Drafted 7 Pro Bowlers with the Raiders and has been a key contributor to the Dolphins rebuild.
We often disagree but I completely share your sentiment here. McKenzie got unfairly thrown under the bus by Gruden…he deserves another chance as a GM somewhere.
Jets need to find an experienced owner.
Or even a first time owner…
ChuckyNJ gets my vote….lol
Woody needs to put his money where his mouth is and then head to England.
To be honest, his brother seemingly did a much better job in his limited time there than Woody did. Not a huge sample size for Christopher, but I think that I’ve seen enough from Woody.
Yes, much more hands off, which I prefer… but he did hire Gase lol
True, that’s true. I can forgive a bad hire, though…even if Gase was one of the worst coaches of modern memory in my opinion.
I’m with you on that, ak. I’ll happily give Christopher another chance.