I always have ideas about draft choices, free agents, and I've been calling for Rex to be replaced for years. Most importantly their overall approach to building the team has been wrong and against my best instincts because of Woody Johnson. I hated the idea of keeping Bradway and promoting Tannenbaum, firing Mangini and keeping Tannenbaum, I hated firing Tannenbaum and keeping Rex, and I really didn't like giving Rex 3 different OC's.
Woody's half measures have kept us down as a team for many, many years. At a certain point you have to hit the reset button and change the voices in your ear. Woody has always been very transparent that he is not a football guy and that he relies on the experts, like he should. Well, the experts in his ear were doing nothing but perpetuating a culture of mediocrity. And in the highly competitive environment that is the NFL, eventually that culture turns to garbage, which is exactly what we saw in 2014.
I have to give our owner credit. He bit the bullet and fired the HC and GM. He found two outstanding football "lifers" to not only help him identify and interview candidates, but to draw up a whole new blueprint. And, he is doing it in the right order.
They interviewed a bunch of HC and GM candidates. He identified his main target at GM and spent a few days with him seeing how they could work together. They narrowed the HC list to two (Quinn & Bowles). They were both NJ natives and former Jets coaches. They were very interested in both, but Quinn won't be able to be signed for a few weeks and Bowles was in high demand. So they did the right thing. They brought in Bowles and had him meet with the new GM, and most importantly they didn't let him leave the building.
For the record, I think Bowles is the FAR SUPERIOR candidate to Quinn. What I expect from Bowles is a team that will play hard for him. We had that with Edwards and Ryan, and certainly didn't with Mangini. Jets players will respond to Bowles just like players on other teams have because of a number of reasons. He's a former 8 year starter and a super bowl champ as a player. He's been a coach for over 15 years. He has an amazing track record including working for Parcells, Reid and Arians. He is a true Parcells protégé. I wanted Bill to be an advisor to Woody during this search and I am sure he would have recommended Bowles as the guy. He will also bring a culture of accountability and no excuses.
I also think that being one of only 5 African American coaches in the league is something we can be proud of as Jets fans. I think our players (of all colors) will respond to that. Even in 2015 it's not easy to work your way up as a black man from player to Head Coach. It doesn't happen by mistake.
I can't say enough about what it feels like to not only have Rex gone, but to have my number one choice, who is also coincidentally an alumni from the same high school as me, as the new HC of the NY Jets. I have always supported whomever was the HC or GM until they proved they weren't up to the job. But for the first time I can REALLY get behind the face of the franchise from day one.
Well done Woody Johnson!
No comments:
Post a Comment