So many scenarios and candidates: HC's

There are SO MANY capable head coach candidates on the market. Ignoring the variable which is the desire of any coach to come here, considering what a mess things are including having to follow Rex who definitely has the complete loyalty of the players as well the fact he created a no accountability environment. Once players are used to that it's hard to break them. I'd seriously consider turning over 65% of this roster. They are spoiled rotten and will give the new coaching staff resistance.

Instead I'm focusing on who the best candidates would be.

In this order I would choose:

Sean Payton
Mike Shanahan
Todd Bowles
Nick Saban
Jim Harbaugh
Jack Del Rio
John Gruden

As you can see most of these guys have extensive head coaching experience, 3 of them have won super bowls, 2 of them have also had huge success on the college level, 3 of them are former NFL players, and 5 of them are currently very happy to stay where they are now and are not available. Only Harbaugh and Shanahan are sure to be available in about a week. All of them would/will be heavily sought after.

Lets start with my ultimate dream hire, the guy I have waited almost 30 years for as a Jet fan, the guy we all deserve... Sean Payton. I would say he is a top 3 coach in this league. But he has struggled lately because of a number of reasons. He is dealing with a declining QB who is also a 20 million dollar drain on the salary cap. That limits your ability to surround that QB with talent. He has lost a lot of the leadership he had when he won the super bowl. Basically the Saints are now a rebuilding situation. I don't think he would resign, but I think the Saints may decide to go in a different direction. There's about a 10% chance he becomes available, but if he does its a no brainer. I'd also explore a possible trade, if Payton would be open to it. I'd give our #1 pick without hesitation for a guy like this to lead us.

Next up is Mike Shanahan. He is available and interested in coaching again. No way he wants to end his career the way he did with Washington. He made some big mistakes down there, but he knows how to win. He could be a cure all option serving as GM and HC. I like the idea of reuniting Cutler and Shanahan the man who drafted him. A blockbuster trade of Cutler and Marshall would instantly make us a contender. Marshall, Decker, Kerly, Amaro, Ivory and Powell would be a sick offense for Cutler to run. I have NEVER been a fan of Cutler but QB's don't grow on trees, and I think in the right system... with the right coaches Jay can win. A run heavy offense with a few prime time targets like Marshall and Decker could be the right formula. Jay needs a dominate HC like Mike to control him.

I also like the staff Shanahan could build with either his son Kyle or Kubiak stepping in as OC. Shanahan/ Kubiak could be another Parcells/ Belichick scenario where Mike signs up for like maybe 3 years and Kubiak slated to take over when he leaves. Baltimore may miss the playoffs and I don't think the Ravens would not consider parting with the "Kube".... as for Mikes son in Cleveland, I think that organization may understand a son wanting to go work with his dad. Kyle Shanahan coming here opens the door to consider Hoyer or Manziel via trade considering Kyle's intimate knowledge of them both. Mike is by far the most interesting candidate. But, is Woody willing to pay?

Todd Bowles has been my #1 choice since October, but I didn't think Shanahan would be interested in coaching again or that Payton might be available. I choose their experience over Bowles... but by a close margin. Only two former Super bowl wining HC's are ahead of this brilliant young assistant. I like everything about Bowles including the fact he is alumni from my high school. He's a former player, he runs a 3-4 defense (so we don't need to re-tool), and he has the presence and persona of a CEO style head coach.

He's a no nonsense guy who has worked with Parcells, Reid and now Arians. He played for Gibbs and his 2013-2014 Arizona defenses have been beyond impressive. I know many Jets fans don't want yet another defense minded HC, but it's the intangibles that matter. I believe he would bring most of his outstanding defensive staff with him form The Cards, but I do have concerns about him building an offensive staff. I like the idea of a 3-4 defense and a West Coast offense, and Morhenwig has worked with Bowles previously when they were both coordinators in Philly. So Bowles may retain Marty.

Saban will coach again in the NFL eventually. he is obsessed with his legacy and he has nothing left to prove in college. Just like Carroll he will take one more shot. Why not here? He is also an all purpose hire who will probably want total control. He can create a culture and would be a huge advantage over the next few years drafting considering his knowledge of all of the recruits. He can handle the media and would have no issue building a lights out staff. Could he get something out of Milliner, our highest drafted player in years?

Harbaugh is nowhere near the top of my list because there is obviously a reason why the 49ers are kicking him out of town. I don't like the idea of trading a draft pick for him and I don't think his family will be happy in NY. But, he is a proven winner, and this guy knows how to coach offense. May have the best chance of developing a QB compared to any guy on this list. And we all know QB is the center piece to anything that comes after. I think he wants to stay in the Bay Area and one of the main draws for this coaching job is NYC. Don't see him coming here, even though that's not my motivation for writing this as I said.

Jack Del Rio is a guy I have always liked as a head coach. he doesn't have the resume as some of the other guys on this list, and things ended pretty bad in Jacksonville for him, but he is a true head coach. He has the experience and brings outstanding leadership to town. Not my first choice but he will motivate his guys like Rex did. My question is regarding offense. Who would run his offense and develop his QB? That was always his achilles heal in FL. In many ways we'd be landing another Rex Ryan, but Jack is smarter, more experienced and he is also not a bumbling clown. So yes, he's an upgrade and the best of what's left. We could do much worse.

Finally, the John Madden of the new millennium. Gruden has become an outstanding commentator on MNF and as much as I love him and Trico I am more interested in the Jets winning games than prime time television. Gruden just signed a gargantuan contract extension at ESPN and there is about a 1% chance he leaves the booth to coach any team. BUT, if his brother is fired I would love to see John take over the Jets and partner with his brother to create a dominate "pound the rock" style offense. This is the biggest long shot of the group, but it's always good to leave no stone unturned.

So many scenarios and candidates: GM's

Well, its x-mas eve and all I want to start out the new year with hope is the END of the 'Wrecks' Ryan era. Woody Johnson has followed my advice by hiring a couple of very experienced "football guys" as consultants (you're welcome Woody!). I had recommended Mr Bill Parcells, but Woody chose two equally qualified men in Charlie Casserly and Ron Wolf. I'm not a huge fan of Casserly, but there is no question he has a ton of knowledge about how to build and run an NFL team. As for Wolf, he may be the best mind available for this situation. I doubt either one of these men will stick around long term, but there guidance will be invaluable to Johnson in the short term.

So lets go over some options starting with GM candidates.

I would choose in this order: 

Eric Decosta from the Ravens
Tom Gamble from the Eagles (formerly 49ers)
Duke Tobin from the Bengals
Scott Pioli from the Falcons

I'm sick of hearing that there are no good coaching candidates, or GM's or QB's. The talent is out there, but you need to know what you are looking for. All four of the guys I mentioned can get it done. They have all been part of winning organizations and they all know the formula to build a successful team. That being said, Decosta is head and shoulders above the rest.

I think that the Ravens are the best organization, and most well built team in the NFL. I think Ozzie Newsome is the finest executive in the league today. He guided the Browns through the bumpy transition from Cleveland to Baltimore, drafted 2 first ballot HOF'ers with his first 2 draft picks and won his first super bowl with no QB. He kept his team amongst the leagues best making the playoffs almost every year this century, found his franchise QB, landed the best young coach in Harbaugh, and won his second championship year before last.

Decosta has worked with Newsome for 17 years as a scout, director of scouting, and now assistant general manager. He's 43 years old and couldn't be more ready to run his own team. However, there are rumors that Ozzie is looking to retire soon and it looks like Decosta is staying put in Baltimore where he is the heir apparent. Every man has a price, and the Jets offer something the ravens don't... New York City. We also offer a top 5 pick in every round, over 50 million in cap room, and some interesting talent that we have the rights to, but at the same time are not handcuffed to. If you believe in your heart that you know how to build an NFL team from scratch, why would you not want to do it under the bright lights of the greatest city in the world? Sure, if it goes wrong you will be crucified (see John Idzik), but winners don't think that way.

As for the other guys on the list, Gamble was the guy I wanted when we hired Idzik. Huge part in building the 49ers and now the Eagles. Duke Tobin has been an important reason why the Bengals are overflowing with talent and have emerged as a perennial playoff team. And Pioli is a guy who's stock has dropped, but I believe can build a championship team. I think he learned some huge lessons in KC and we can benefit from being his 2nd shot at running the show. The only reason he's not ahead of Gamble and Tobin is because he's a former Patriot. I hate how it looks if we hire him.

For the record I support retaining Idzik in a salary cap management position similar to what he did in Seattle. He is a big part of why we have so many options regarding free agency and our awesome cap space. He could be great help to Decosta on the finance end.

My Final Rex Ryan Rant

First off, I don't hate Rex. He seems like a great guy to have a beer with. If he ever wants to pop over for a BBQ at my house he's welcome. Now on to destroying him as a head coach.

I started this blog about a month after Rex was hired. September 4th of 2012 was the first time I mentioned firing Rex Ryan. What I said was if the 2012 season turned out to be as bad as 2011 we needed to remove Tannenbaum and Ryan and start fresh. I even warned about how bad it would be to force Rex on a new GM.

A few months later I outright called for his firing and took a long break from analyzing the Jets on this blog. I knew Ryan wasn't going anywhere and I knew nothing would change. So why post the same thing over and over? I have watched the Jets, but my passion has faded. Not because they are losing... I'm used to that after almost 30 years watching this team. But because of the old saying... if nothing changes, nothing changes. It's just boring to see the same cycle over and over for the past 6 years.

So for 28 months I have had to sit and watch a team that is ill-prepared, sloppy, lost, discombobulated, mistake prone, dumb, and most importantly... so easily satisfied (refer to week 17 last year when we missed the playoffs for the 3rd season in a row. Yup, the players gave him a Gatorade bath for that at the end of the game SMH). Everyone of those aforementioned qualities is a direct representation of their head coach. It's not the fault of the 3 different OC's, 2 different DC's, 2 different GM's, 2 different highly drafted QB's.... it's REX RYANS FAULT. Even during the 09' and 10' seasons we were a sloppy mess.

Ryan has a losing regular season record. We snuck into the playoffs his rookie year because the colts pulled their starters, year 2 we had an amazing squad and beat the Pats 2 out of 3 games including a playoff game in their house (one of the best moments in Jets history) and ever since then, 4 years in a row without a playoff birth... not even close to one. Summary, one good season out of 6... and that damn 2010 team could have won a super bowl with a complete head coach at the helm.

I mentioned that Rex would make a good drinking buddy, and I mentioned that amazing game back in January of 2011 when we beat the Pats in the playoffs and made Wes Welker cry. I am convinced that after 6 years of ineptitude Jets fans who still support Rex love him solely because of those 2 things. And that's just not good enough to keep a coach in place after failing week in and week out.

Rex is not a CEO style coach. He's a guy that wants to jump in the trenches and cheerlead for his players. A CEO has a cold heart. You wouldn't want to have a beer with most CEO's. They see the big picture, set crystal clear expectations and are never afraid to put anyone on the chopping block if they aren't getting the job done. They are 100% focused on the bottom line... and in the NFL we all know the bottom line is winning. A CEO never micro manages but instead makes sure they can keep themselves free to see the team as a whole while delegating to other proven leaders.

Rex is 2-11, his job is on the line, he's now gone 4 seasons without a playoff birth, this team is rated near the bottom in almost every conceivable statistical category on offense and defense. His message to the team? We are CLOSE..... so CLOSE. He doesn't know when to bench a player, he doesn't set expectations with severe consequences when they aren't met, he is unquestionably our full time defensive coordinator (Thurman is a joke) and he has little to nothing to do with the offense. He is more focused on being loved by his players, entertaining the NY media in press conferences, and looking like a good company man to Woody Johnson than he is on winning. Again, his eyes aren't on the bottom line like a CEO should be.

Great football coaches are loved because the players know that he is a big reason why they are winning. I don't remember Seattle Seahawks players lining up to say how much they loved and respected Pete Caroll until they started winning two years ago. Mike McCarthy and Belichick look like two of the biggest douches in history, but their players love them. Not because they tell great jokes in meetings, not because they never criticize them publicly, not because the are so loyal they won't bench them until they have the worst QB rating in the league and the season is lost at 1-6.

Their players love them because they are all about winning. If you are cut or benched you know why... you weren't helping them win. Can you imagine Tomlin or John Harbaugh making jokes during press conferences at 2-11 and saying that who starts at QB is a "team" decision??? If you are making the final call and hiding behind the front office you're spineless... if you are the HC of an NFL team and you are not allowed to pick your starters each week, you should yell it from the roof tops and then quit. Deflecting blame is what Ryan and our whole front office has been about for 2 years now.

Rex was quoted this past week saying that we have 2 good QB's on our roster and it's a hard choice picking a starter each week. Seriously??? Vick and Smith have been complete disasters. Why would you keep praising them? What do you gain from this?

To wrap this up I will mention what I saw on the practice field during Rex's run as the HC.

I first attended a Rex Ryan practice in the 2010 preseason (this was the Hard Knocks year when the guys were eating burgers while running plays in practice... on camera). What I saw was really odd to me. I saw players jogging around casually, Rex making the rounds chatting with players telling jokes making them laugh, dropped passes everywhere, it was a late start of coarse, and I couldn't believe this was for real. After seeing that practice I said I thought we wouldn't even make the playoffs. I can't imagine what could have been that year if we would have had some discipline and focus.

Every practice I have attended since them have been exactly the same. Every game I've watched, win or lose, I see:

• the same dumb penalties,
• guys looking lost pre-snap,
• 12 men on the field,
• blown coverages,
• careless turnovers,
• horrendous in-game coaching decisions and adjustments,
• struggling players left out on the field getting beat, play after play after play

That's your legacy Rex, a lot of talk and below average results. His players never seem to get better and he hasn't learned a thing in 6 years. Good bye and good riddens!

OK, so FCK Idzik

Obviously my opinion on our GM John Idzik has drastically changed since my post in early September. I was really excited about this guy. I'll tell you why. Now I want him gone as soon as the season ends. I'll tell you why.

Idzik is a really smart guy who has been around this league his whole life. He believes in fiscal discipline and building through the draft. He came from a championship program and he is in many ways the exact opposite of Mike Tannenbaum. I also thought he made chicken soup out of chicken shit in 2013. That's why I liked him.

What changed? Well, I thought we were a 6 win team back in the beginning of the season. So, the fact that we are not going to make the playoffs and are in the running for the #1 overall pick in the 2015 draft is not why I am so down on Idzik. I knew we were in year 2 of a 3 year rebuild. I think I am a fan that has pretty realistic expectations, at least as real as any true fan can be. Having rose colored glasses is not a defect of a fan, its what makes you a fan. And there is a difference between wearing those glasses and wearing blinders. I always try to think positive, but I also call it as a see it on the field.

Unfortunately a lot of fans don't really follow or understand the NFL very well. Most of them only know we went 8-8 last season, so they expect 9-7 or 10-6 as a minimum expectation this year. Not taking into consideration the actual schedule or the fact that every hole isn't going to be filled from one year to the next. If there was no salary cap maybe a well run NFL team wouldn't have to rely on the draft so heavily and take time to develop players in house. But there is a cap, and spending just to spend never has and never will work.

Idzik really rolled the dice on our secondary and I addressed that before the season started. I said that they would look bad, but that they would hopefully be gaining invaluable experience. Well our 3rd overall pick went on IR before the preseason even started, and Milliner barely played at all, missing time being sandwiched between two different injuries.

Sadly Idzik had zero back up plan. When Idzik passed on Revis I said I thought the Pats way overpaid for him. I also thought it would mess up their locker room. With the information that I had, including Wilfork demanding his release right after the Revis signing, it looked like a desperate move. I also didn't care that we didn't pursue him because it was the first week of free agency. I never thought that we wouldn't bring in at least one high quality veteran CB to help run Rex's defense.

Well 9 months later the Pats are tied for best record in the AFC and Revis has looked good. He's not Revis Island anymore, but he has done a solid job for Belichick. Meanwhile our secondary is easily the worst in the entire league. Hindsight being 20/20 I must ask how an NFL GM didn't see how important it would have been to at least make a major run at this guy.

Essentially, if we resigned Revis, it would have not changed our overall situation. We would have won 6 or 7 games instead of 2 or 3... either way no playoffs. Revis can't play QB, just like Geno Smith can't. Revis can't pass block, just like three 5ths of or O-line can't. Revis can't stretch the field and catch TD passes, just like our WR corps can't. BUT, this is NY sports, not Seattle. Perception is reality, and perception is manipulated by the venomous NY Sports Media. Any executive running a NY sports franchise needs to understand how to spin public perception like a savvy expert.

Signing Revis would have meant:

• We traded a semi-popular player for a high 1st round pick
• We drafted the DROY with that pick
• We resign that same player back less than 12 months later
• We would not sit on over 20 million in unused cap room
• No one can claim the front office is sabotaging the head coach (because he gets his favorite player back)
• We have a quality veteran who knows the defense like the back of his hand to help us be competitive
• Every idiot with a Revis jersey in his closet busts a nut in his pants
• We keep a player, who fits our division rival perfectly, away from them

All of these things considered, there is no way you pass on Revis. You, at the very least, fight for him. If you lose an aggressive bidding war then Revis becomes the bad guy. Instead, Idzik left himself out to dry and has become a well deserved lightning rod for all of our short comings in 2014.

I made the decision to support Idzik being removed as GM when he had his weird mid-season press conference. This guy was so lost and off-putting it hit me like a ton of bricks that there is no way he has what it takes to run a NY NFL Team. End of discussion.

I'm not against him stepping down into a salary cap management position, similar to what he did in Seattle, but he needs to be out of the decision making department. He's a complete failure as the face of our front office.

Duane Charles Parcells

There is only one man who can save the NY Jets. Bill Parcells will never coach again and he is semi-retired. I know he will never coach again because he turned down the Saints gig when their coach was suspended. I knew he was focused on the Hall of Fame and getting in before he died.

Well, the HOF gleam is off the rose, he released a new book recently, he's been out their dropping quotes about teams like the Giants and their lack of effort, and he's going to be on the NFL Network and ESPN in coming weeks. I for one will be watching.

I think this guy is bored and ready to get his hand dirty again. He has shown these patterns for decades. When you listen to this guy talk he doesn't sound like a guy who is ready to go to pasture. And their is such a void in this league right now of true "football guys" who know how to build a team from scratch.

Unless he signs a TV deal before the end of the season I think he will be working for an NFL team in 2015. WHY NOT THE NY JETS??? he brings our team and this program INSTANT credibility and stability. He can re-build the scouting department, front office and coaching staff... with Woody's phat ass checkbook.

• I see Parcells as our President of Football Operations.
• I see his piss boy son-in-law Pioli as our new General Manager.
• And I see them bringing in Todd Bowles, who coached for Bill in Dallas, as Head Coach.
• I see Charlie Weiss as OC and one of Bowles fine defensive assistants like Tom Pratt, Mike Caldwell or Kevin Ross stepping in as DC.

Bowles has a great foundation for his 3-4 defense already on our roster, and I really believe he can rebuild our secondary. I also like Weiss as an assistant, he just sucks as a head coach.

I am sure Parcells would completely gut our scouting department. Most importantly Woody will let him do whatever he wants. He won't have certain rules like not allowing Revis to come back, or pressure on the front office to bring in guys like Tebow to sell jerseys and PSL's.

All of the planets have aligned for Bill to make his triumphant return to NY football. He will have a top 5 pick in every round and 50-60 million in cap room. The key is Woody getting on his knees and begging while also letting Parcells to not only write his own pay check, but be able to spend on the other additions I mentioned to the front office and coaching staff.

No more bottom 3 paid head coaches and GM's. Woody needs to understand he offers only one thing to this team.... MONEY $$$$ Spend some richy rich, spend some!!!