Just as an aside, some of these candidates (smh)... I'm surprised I haven't read that they're interviewing Rob Calabrese for OC. I mean, he was the OC at Wagner College. That he was QB coach at Wagner, was enough for them to hire him as their QB coach, so that he was OC should be enough to elevate him to Jets OC... using that same Jets logic. .
I'm seeing the usual list of receivers coaches and tight end coaches... I really hope we can do better than that.
The logical person to hire would be a guy who can take a talented quarterback and scheme up plays to develop them regardless of the talent around them. A strong leader who can adapt when things go wrong and really dig into their bag of tricks.
One of the scenarios that might be promising is to offer Bruce Arians the head coaching job with the understanding that he's only going to be in that role for a couple of seasons. Make Robert Saleh the co-head coach and DC. This is not a demotion so his existing contract is still in effect with no questions. Let Arians put things together on the offensive side of the ball and manage the games and have Saleh continue to develop the defense as DC. Have Arians work with Saleh to develop the skills he'll need as HC in a couple of seasons. If that works out Arians steps upstairs after 2024 or 2025 at the outside and Saleh retakes the reins as HC. We have Arians experience in the building and we have a HC ready to go.
Kudos for "thinking outside the box", and it would address a lot of the current problems, but there are several major hurdles that I doubt can be overcome: 1. Why would Arians agree to come out of retirement to be a "co-HC", without any say in who his co-HC and DC are? 2. If he were to un-retire, why would he come to the Jets, especially with the above restrictions, not to mention no proven QB on board? I think it's more plausible - though still very unlikely - that Arians could be brought in as the HC replacing Saleh and being given full and free rein to do what he thinks he needs to do to be successful. Short of that, maybe - if they paid him a ton of money - he'd agree to come in to be a Sr. Advisor, not only on offense but overall. I do agree that the Jets need to add some proven experience to the CS and not just hiring a new OC.
This used to be a standard thing in the NFL to protect valued coordinators and prevent people from poaching them as head coaches or coordinators. Not sure why it is not used at this point. It may be due to the explosion in coaching salaries over the last decade. It also used to be called Assistant-HC. https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/2008/08/22/around-nfl-what-exactly-is/46018143007/
It appears you misunderstood the article. This article is talking about a title of an assistant to HC. You know - how you have a clear HC, and then there is a guy who is his assistant - not a Co HC. It still talks about a clear single HC. Saleh will not be going from a HC to an assistant on the same team.
Arians would be the clear HC in my scenario. Saleh would be Co-HC/DC as a way of ensuring his continued participation working with the defense and his eventual rise back to HC after 2 to 3 seasons. Arians is one of the most accomplished head coaches currently not coaching. He's also one of the most accomplished OC's currently not coaching. He'd be a perfect fit for the Jets in the mess they're in right now.
There's no way of knowing what people would or would not consider until you approach them. Thinking outside the box is one of the things the Jets are going to have to do to avoid limping into next season with HC and GM both on the firing line unless things break really well for them.
Do you have any examples in the history of NFL where a HC of a team got demoted working the staff of a new HC of the same team?
Because he didn't actually get a full choice on his "retirement" upstairs. That was a Brady-influenced decision cushioned by the Bucs both honoring his contract as a senior emeritus advisor and also promoting Todd Bowles one of his proteges. My guess is he'd love to have a real shot at another Super Bowl win in a situation where he was in charge and could call the shots.
No, they mostly just get fired. In the Jets case it might pay to think out of the box and keep the defensive progress they've made while also enabling the potential return of the young HC who has been overmatched in his first couple of seasons.
If we’re going to have contrived unrealistic fantasies why not say “Sean Peyton, future Jets OC/ co-HC”
