Three potential head coaches that will keep the Jets in the NFL cellar
The New York Jets have a very clear and focused approach when it comes to hiring their new head coach: throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Woody Johnson has paid a sum of money to the 33rd Team, a media and consulting outfit headed by former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and Rick […]
The New York Jets have a very clear and focused approach when it comes to hiring their new head coach: throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.
Woody Johnson has paid a sum of money to the 33rd Team, a media and consulting outfit headed by former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman, in order to help him find the next GM and head coach of the Jets. And what Woody has gotten for his money is essentially a list of every possible name available to coach in the NFL. As of January 17, 2025, Woody Johnson and co. have requested or interviewed 18 different candidates for their head coaching position and 15 different candidates for their GM position. An absolutely ridiculous number of interviews. I wouldn’t be surprised at this point if they request an interview with Robert Saleh.
Still, at this point there are some candidates who stick out as great hires, even if the Jets already lost out on Mike Vrabel, the prize in this coaching cycle. There are others however who range from Fool’s Gold to downright absurd.
These are the three candidates the Jets have interviewed that I would stay away from.
1. Arthur Smith
The Jets interviewed Smith earlier this week and fans were furious over the prospect of bringing in Arthur.
Before becoming the Steelers OC, Smith was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. For three consecutive years, Atlanta went 7-10. Each year of his tenure, Atlanta added a first-round weapon – tight end Kyle Pitts, receiver Drake London, and running back Bijan Robinson – but Smith notoriously underutilized his talent. Smith struggled to find competent quarterbacking and couldn’t take advantage of a very weak AFC South.
Smith was notoriously perturbed with the media aspects of the job. Imagine what he would be like facing the New York Jets media on a daily basis.
Smith failed to impress as Steelers offensive coordinator this year as the team looked completely lost for the last six weeks of the season and the offense sputtered.
I’m with Joe Caporoso. This is a riot-worthy hire. Having experience does not mean having good experience. Smith is a guy who failed at developing a quarterback, making it to the playoffs and dealing with the media. What exactly are the Jets hiring him to do?
2. Matt Nagy
Matt Nagy is the offensive coordinator for Kansas City Chiefs, a position he held prior to the last time some desperate team gave him a shot as the head coach. And like last time, he is riding the success of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid while claiming it as his own in order to get another bite of the head coaching apple. The problem is, we have seen what he is like as a head coach and it isn’t pretty.
Nagy was hired by the Chicago Bears in 2018. Interestingly, the Jets tried to hire Nagy to be their offensive coordinator in 2017 under then head coach Todd Bowles, but Reid blocked the team’s request and kept him in Kansas City.
His first season in Chicago was a major success as he finished 12-4 and won the NFC North. QB Mitch Trubisky put up career numbers that year with 3,223 yards and 24 touchdowns. However, the Bears didn’t make it past the wild card round, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Nagy went 22-35 combined in his next three seasons in Chicago and the offense continued to get progressively worse. He said goodbye to Trubisky after failing to develop him and brought in Justin Fields to be the quarterback only to see the Bears rank towards the bottom of the league in total yards per game (307.4), points per game (18.3) and passing yards per game (188.6).
Is this supposed to be the guy who is going to turn around the offense, the franchise and the outlook of the team while developing a young quarterback? Nagy is a product of his environment in Kansas City, not a cause of their success. His one season of success as a head coach does not negate the perpetual mediocrity that followed it.
3. Brian Flores
This is one that is going to be controversial to some. But I think this might be one of the worst options for the Jets to possibly bring in for this team. Brian Flores is currently the defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings and was previously the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. While head coach for the Vikings Flores went 24-25. While that it isn’t a good record, it is far from the reason I wouldn’t want him as a head coach.
His relationship with Tua Tagovailoa is reason enough for me to want the Jets to stay as far away from Flores as possible. Tua was drafted by the Dolphins to be their franchise quarterback, and Flores would constantly tell him he “didn’t belong in the NFL”. Now, I’m not one to shy away from tough coaching, but to break the psyche of the man who is supposed to lead your franchise is too far. Tua would go on to call Flores a “terrible person” on the Dan Lebatard Show. That is an active player calling an active coach a “terrible person” in the media. Think of how bad it must have been.
Tua isn’t the only one. NFL journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has his own reservations about handing the keys to the franchise over to Flores.
“As his tenure went on in Miami, he kind of became unrecognizable,” Fitzpatrick continued. “A lot of the staff he brought over from New England — that was where he cut his teeth in the NFL; was there for 15-plus years as an assistant. I think he’s going to have a really hard time. If you’re interviewing him as a head coach, I think in the interviews, he’ll be likable, he’ll be relatable.
“But, when people say, ‘Give me somebody from Miami that coached under you as a reference, so we can talk to them,’ I think he burned a lot of bridges there. I think he alienated himself from the entire staff. Instead of … having the humility to ask questions, to collaborate, I think by the end of his time there, he became a dictator. He ruined a lot of relationships that he built up through the NFL. And his ego grew so big that there wasn’t room for anyone else.”
Flores still has an active lawsuit against the NFL for racial discrimination. That is still hanging over him like a dark cloud.
As a football coach, Flores is nothing more than a modern-day Gregg Williams. He is a defensive coach who has no business being the face of an organization. And if the Jets are so desperate for a culture change, I ask you: is that that culture you want to build?
No thanks. Hard pass.
Jets reportedly put an end to speculation on Rex Ryan’s future as head coach in New York
Options continue to dwindle for the New York Jets as the coaching carrousel spins. After the New England Patriots announced that they are hiring Mike Vrabel to be their head coach in one of the most un-surprising moves of the offseason, the Jets not only have to deal with facing him twice a year, but […]
