I picked Walt Michaels because he is very underrated and mostly forgotten among Jets fans. I remember being stunned when he "resigned." Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory but this is one I actually buy into. He supposedly resigned shortly after the "Mud Bowl" because of stress and his sick mother and he needed time. Yet he coached in the Useless Football League...I mean USFL the very next year. Joe Walton supposedly pressured the front office to fire Michaels or he would walk. And since a lot of people thought Walton was the reason for the Jets success at the time, they let Michaels resign. It still burns me.
This article explains it pretty well: http://overthecap.com/poison-pills-alex-mack/ A poison pill contract is a type of contract that is given to a player whose rights are still controlled, whether by the restricted, franchise, or transition designations, by another team. The offer sheet is then written with a specific clause that does not allow the other team to match the offer sheet.
Parcells did a great job turning the team around. His legacy becomes more sticky as some have pointed out here in respect of the way he left. But I think his manner of leaving was attributable in part to his having been hired by Hess, who died and then Parcells has a new owner in Woody, who obviously didn't know shit about football. So Parcells did not want to stay. I get that. Still i think there's an argument that Walt Michaels should be the winner of this poll. He put a great team together, and it took Walton several years to destroy it, it was that solid. It's gotta be those two in a close contest. No one else comes close to them.
One thing that always impressed me with Parcells, that I think is very underrated, was his ability to put together a top notch staff under him. In his career (not even just here) he always had some of the best coordinators and position coaches in the game and that makes a big difference on the field. Once he had name recognition it was even better. Him bringing that here- a top notch staff from top to bottom was one of the best things that happened to this organization. The pre-parcells Jets of the 1990s struggled with that big time. When Parcells came here -it was the 1st time in a LONG time that this organization had premier football coaches taking the jobs hyper seriously. That had enduring value. Not only because many of the coaches worked in this organization long after he left but because they developed players in their time here that would stay in the organization for a long time. Player development is very overlooked. Putting together an excellent staff is not easy. Not only does it take connections but it also takes guts. That means not bypassing talented position coaches for friends, not worrying about those under you stealing your notoriety & recognizing a guy's ability in the face of other issues at previous stops (lack of talent, their lack of connections & notoriety), and being able to recognize a guy's value even if you have different philosophies or personalities. Parcells was one of the best ever in the game at that. Unfortunately Belichick brought a lot of that to NE with him. ---- this is also one of the things I am encouraged about with Bowles. I thought he put together a very good staff for a 1st time HC.
Its tough. You have to give Parcells credit for turning the franchise around. But Rex's (brief but impressive) playoff success can't be overlooked either. I voted Rex but you could go either way. Parcells left the team in a much better position then when he got there while Rex didn't.
Parcells. I wish he would've stuck around longer. Followed by Herm. Those two delivered our two AFC East division titles.
Rex Ryan. Back to back AFCCG He was a breath of fresh air when he got here and it was very exciting football to watch the first couple years he was here. He took one of the worst QBs in the game, even as a rookie, and still made deep runs into the playoffs. Those were easily my favorite seasons to watch since 98. Rex has my vote, easily.
You gotta be kidding. Rex was so happy winning 2 divisional playoff games he had the team so I'll prepared to play in the AFCCG's it wasn't even funny. Hell, nobody remembers who were Super Bowl losers, let alone AFCCG losers. Rex was a complete joke.
Ill prepared? We were beating the Colts at half time. Then Peyton Manning did his thing. He's probably the greatest QB to play the game. Sanchez choked and couldn't perform in the second half. How is that on Rex? Second year, Mark Sanchez played like ass in the first half and Pittsburgh did just enough to hold on in the second. There's a connection between those two losses and it isn't Ryan.
The topic at hand is not about SB losers, if that was the case, none of these coaches would make the cut. Your blind hate for Rex shows with your petty attempt to discredit my opinion of him. Your argument doesn't make any sense. My opinion is based on a fact, that fact, he made back to back AFCCG. No other Jets coach has done that. That alone, makes him something more than a joke. It makes him far more successful than most of the coaches that have coached this team. Think a little before putting biased drivel on a message board.
