Our 2009 Coaching staff is an interesting group. Most of us know about Rex Ryan and his resume by now. He's the son of one of the greatest defensive coaches in NFL history, much like our offensive coordinator Brian Schottenhiemer who also is the son of a legend. Brian is another coach we know a lot about considering he has been with us for 3 seasons now. Mike Westhoff has been a fixture as our special teams coach since the dreaded Herm Edwards era. Bill Callahan has also been retained as our offensive line coach.
I'd like to focus on some of the new faces. I'll start with Matt Cavanaugh our new QB coach. This is quite an important job considering our current situation. Matt was a second rate journeyman career back up from 1979 to 1991. He was also the Ravens offensive coordinator from 2001 to 2004. He worked directly with Kyle Boller helping him build the legacy of a 1st round bust. It's hard to understand what makes the Jets feel comfortable with Cavanaugh tutoring our young signal callers. Big question mark on this hire. I know Mr. T gave Rex as much freedom as possible to assemble his staff the way he saw fit, but former offensive coaches from the Ravens would not be on my list.
Kerry Locklin is our new defensive line coach. How Rex found this guy is beyond me. He was an NFL player for a short time and has spent the last NINE YEARS as the defensive line coach at Fresno Sate. Our defensive line is the weakest of our defensive squads. Hopefully this 'nobody' coach can make an impact. Again, big question mark on this hire.
Dennis Thurman may be our most impactful new coach. He is our secondary coach and is another import form Baltimore. He coached one of the best secondaries of this decade with the Ravens and has some great talent to work with here in NY. If Mike Pettine would have declined the defensive coordinator position with the Jets Thurman would have been the likely runner up.
Speaking of Mike Pettine, he has his job because of the success he had with the LB corps of the Ravens. His job is multi faceted but one of his main responsibilities will be turning Vernon Gholston into a force on the field instead of a decoration. Rex describes him as a 'rising star in this league' and if the Jets defense becomes one of the most dominate units in the game, Pettine could start getting head coaching offers as soon as 2010.
I would be very surprised if Pettine and Shottenhiemer are with the Jets for more than 2 years. Considering the bright futures ahead of our young defensive and offensive coordinators, my hope is they will coach with intensity and it will translate to how we play on both sides of the ball.
This is a very solid coaching staff; however they need to develop chemistry off the field much like the players need it on the field. Rex seems like a natural leader and his defensive staff is outstanding. I guess the big question is how well will Schotty accept all these new faces considering he expected to be our head coach in 2009? Time will tell.
I have never been more disappointed in my Jets than the last 4 or 5 games of 2008. Watching players going through the motions and playing with zero heart was sickening. I blame Mangini and I'm glad Woody made Mr. T pull the trigger. This team is a work in progress, but with this staff I predict a lot of hard hitting and passion on the field. This is your chance Rex, make it happen!
J.Wagner
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