He's not going to fire him unless he has somebody a hell of a lot better to replace him with..not if he wants to keep his job too and no matter what people think of him he got the Jets to consecutive championship games with Mark Fuckin Sanchez as his quarterback.
No, the question is whether you can viably bring in a new regime without losing out on the value of the strongest investment in this team, the defense. That would require a new head coach that is not only competent in all facets of the game, but can also field a defensive scheme that doesn't fall off too much from what Rex would have done himself; no small feat. Personally I couldn't care less if Rex delegates everything on offense as long as that unit can get the job done. So far Rex hasn't shown any ability to do that successfully, but he has also had incompetents designing on offense since he came to town, so hopefully he can capitalize on this better situation with better OC/offensive talent/lessons learned/etc. If the team can show any decent signs of life on offense next year, I can't see how the team could expect to bring in a better replacement with a high degree of confidence all things considered.
This is exactly right. Losing the defensive side of the ball would add a year to the rebuild process and we might never get back to the level that Rex's Jet D's play at. Switching schemes after all the talent has been acquired to play in Rex's scheme would be very hard to do, particularly since nobody else on earth runs Rex's scheme and so the adjustment points would be very tough to make. Can Mo Wilkerson, Quinton Coples and Sheldon Richardson play in the same defensive scheme if it is a cookie-cutter 3-4 or 4-3? Probably not. They might manage the trick with Wilkerson at strong-side end and Coples and Richardson at the tackles, but they are both 3T's. They really only all fit in Rex's 46 and some of the hybrid fronts he presents. Rex has to become a better head coach, but about 90% of that process is on the offensive side of the ball where he needs to learn how to oversee more efficiently without stepping too hard on the plan. Idzik is going to solve the "Rex's players" problem for him but only Rex can figure out how to manage all three phases of the Jets game for optimal results.
The biggest investment in this team is the young players we are drafting to bring us a future SB. The coaching philosophy, the management of those players development having little to do with scheme is ultimately the job of the HC and the coaching staff that works for him. Rex has shown he can scheme with other people's talent. What he hasn't shown is can he instill a teaching environment that creates good professionals who perform at the highest possible level as pro's. In a rebuilding program dedicated to drafting instead of FA's under the new NFL rules that's the kind of HC that's going to succeed or fail.
People here seem very convinced that Rex has to do a very good job (and the jets have to do well in 2013) for him to keep his job. The moves the team is making suggest to me that while Rex can lose his job (if the jet's do very badly), the front office seems focused on keeping him. The reasons I say that Idzik intends to keep Ryan are (i) the draft picks he's making (a corner with man cover skills and richardson) all suggest he expects to keep running a Rex defense, (ii) he's working to free up a massive amount of cap room in 2014, suggesting he's expecting to make a run with free agents in 2014 and 2015 and (iii) if he wants to make a run starting in 2014 then he would want his coach in place now so that his players aren't all learning a new system (so Rex is his coach). Incidentally, this would also suggest that Geno starts this year if he is at all able to do so. If you want to make your run in 2014 with Geno (and I don't see anyone else on the roster they'd want to make their run with), then it is critical to get Geno as many reps as possible this year by starting him.
I think Rex has a much greater chance of turning into a formidable all around HC now that Idzik is here. I liked Tannenbaum before things fell apart because he was able to bring in quite a bit of marquee talent to bring the Jets out of the obscurity they had been toiling in for the length of my life more or less with a couple of decent seasons as the exception. Ultimately though he didn't have a firm enough hand in talent evaluation especially in the middle to lower ends of the roster and was unable to get the team over the hump to an elite team. Idzik, on the other hand, has so far proven to show a firm grasp of all of the areas where Tannenbaum fell short. It looks like he won't stand for Rex's overvaluing "his" players which seems to be about half the battle in terms of downfalls. Based on that Idzik might be able to successfully conspire with Morningwheg to implement a good offense and teach Rex something about being an HC on that side of the ball as well. Rex certainly isn't lacking any football IQ he just needs to grow up and get over some of his antiquated preconceptions about coaching football that don't fly in the modern world. Rex seems to be the most promising HC we've had in decades, so the next couple of years are in a way a test of Idzik's ability to see that potential realized. Having to part ways and go in a different direction would have to be viewed as something of a failure for the Idzik regime.
Flat out stacked? Okay this was before Revis broke out. I'm looking at the roster. QB = yes. Favre is more talented than Sanchez. Oline = yes. Damien Woody & Faneca were more talented than Hunter / Ducasse / Slauson. RB = Toss up. Jones + Washington vs LT + Greene. Washington was more of a returner, only had 76 rushing attempts for the year. Both Washington and Greene did pretty well as a change of pace 2nd back. WR = no. Stucky, Coles (at the very end of his career) vs Edwards & Holmes. Not even close. TE = no. Keller was a rookie, bubba franks & Chris Baker did next to nothing receiving. Keller was better in 2010, plus Hartsock was a better blocker than Franks & Baker. DL = yes. Jenkins was a beast LB = close but no. A lot of the same. Gholston was a non factor in 2008 so that might just edge it for 2010. Jason Taylor put the 2010 unit over the top IMO, despite Pace & Thomas being older. CB = no; Revis + Cromartie >>>> Safety = very close but yes. Rhodes I feel was better than Poole. Special teams were close as well. I thought Feely was better than Folk, but Weatherford was a way better punter than Hodges. Washington vs Brad smith is a toss up, both were good. I'm leaning to 2010 because our special teams had one of the top return games in the league, coupled with the best punting. So out of the ten positions: 2008 is favored in 4 with one tie. That means 2010 team edges it and takes the cake. Some of that might be partially opinion, but it is mostly based on stats and success at the positions. The O did not rank 4th in the league in yards in 2008. They ranked 16th. Favre did for the offense in 2008 what Revis & Rex did for the D in 2009 & 2010. Yes the 2008 team had a better offense, but certainly not a better defense or overall success.
The NE O that we beat in NE. I disagree with you the 08 team was overall much better. The OL had guys in their prime as did the D Line and LB. Rhodes wasn't just a little better than Poole he was miles better. We had a much better WR rotation in 08 than 09. We didn't just have Coles who in 08 was better than either Holmes and Edwards we had Cotchery who had a huge year who was better than Holmes and Edwards and Stuckey was a very good slot receiver. Keller as a rookie with Favre was better than Keller with Sanchez ever. Franks and Baker both could actually seal the edge on a run something Keller could never do ever.
