With 2024 now officially in the books, the Jets are a mere few days away from putting the 2024 season to bed as well. Then the real fun can begin as the team will look to replace their general manager and head coach.

But according to ESPN Jets writer Rich Cimini on his podcast "Flight Deck", the list of potential head coaching candidates is already being cut down as Woody Johnson, with the help of former NFL GM’s Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman do their due diligence.

Cimini believes that the Jets have their eyes Mike Vrabel, but he ultimately goes elsewhere. “I think the Jets, if I had to bet, want Mike Vrabel right now. But I don’t think Mike Vrabel is going to come to the Jets,” Cimini says. So, that is one coach off the list according to Cimini and I don’t necessarily think he is wrong.

There have been a lot of rumblings lately about Vrabel going to the Las Vegas Raiders if they choose to fire Antonio Pierce. Given the relationship between Vrabel, the former New England Patriots linebacker and the Raiders’ new minority owner Tom Brady, the former Patriots quarterback, that is an easy connection to make.

Cimini goes on to say that the Jets would like an offensive head coach, but “that person doesn’t really exist” for them at this point. Again, Rich isn’t wrong here. There are very few offensive-minded coaches that are deserving of a head coaching job, let alone one that would want the Jets job.

Todd Monken is a name I believe the Jets should stay away from. Some believe that Ben Johnson will finally leave the Detroit Lions to take a head coaching job, but I can’t see him choosing the Jets. The fact is, that Woody Johnson’s reputation has made the Jets an undesirable situation for those who have other options. Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson will have other options.

If Rich Cimini is correct, and I don’t know either way, then the list of potential Jets head coaching candidates is getting very thin, very fast. Without Vrabel or any offensive coach, that only leaves a few names left. The Jets are already planning to interview Rex Ryan and former Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. They may not even wait to hire a GM before finding a head coach.

Cimini believes that all of this points to the Jets hiring Aaron Glenn to be the next head coach for the Jets. I wrote about Glenn as a head coaching candidate a few weeks ago, and the more I think about it, the less enamored I am at the idea of bringing in Glenn to be the guy. It just feels too much like an endless loop of doing the same thing over and over. The Jets have been bringing in defensive-minded, first-year head coaches to develop a young QB for decades and nothing good has come from it.

Herm Edwards couldn’t develop Pennington. Rex couldn’t develop Mark Sanchez (or Geno Smith for that matter). Todd Bowles could do nothing with Sam Darnold. Robert Saleh could do less than that with Zach Wilson. But still, it feels like a Woody Johnson move to think THIS time, it will work. Forgive me if the fact that Aaron Glenn wore a Jets uniform in 1998 (that was like four iterations of uniform ago, right?) doesn’t make me a believer in his ability to develop a quarterback.

At the end of the day, offensive or defensive minded. Experience or rookie. Older or younger. It won’t matter if Woody Johnson can’t get out of his own way.

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