Something tells me Westhoff would actually tell the press what he thinks when they ask him. That probably doesn't make him compatable with Tannenbaum.
Of all the internal candidates Westhoff should be the front runner. That doesn't mean I want to see him get the job, but I'd way rather see him patrolling the sidelines then Shitty or Callahan.
Man, we jet fans are pretty desperate for anything to be optimistic about. Westhoffs the. BEst candidate on the team, but only because I'm not sure how schotty still has a job, and I'd rather keep callahan focused on the line to minimize his responsibilities.
It is as much practical as it is symbolic. When a new regime comes in, it needs to be just that from top to bottom. The Head Coach must know and feel that it is his team and his staff, to operate at the highest level possible (look at Monte in Oaktown). I think the players need that. If they see a puppet, they'll treat him like a puppet. I am open to the idea of letting the new HC make the decision on whether to keep Westhoff or not, but do not believe he should be forced. Westy deserves partial blame for the collapse, especially considering he was an "assistant head coach", so the same justification for letting Mangini go should apply. I also won't forget the whole Nugent thing, though to be fair, it was probably just as much PR following the Pittsburgh game as it was Westy wanting a new toy.
Wow - I'm surprised after reading through this whole thread that the sentiment about this idea is so overwhelmingly positive. I seem to remember Westhoff being pretty badly bashed in some of the other "who will be the next HC" threads when his name came up. I'm glad there's so much support though - I think he's a very intriguing option for HC. Of course, who knows how it would work out, but I certainly like him a lot more than many of the other names that have been floated out there. I hope they at least grant an interview.
this is the first time in my history of a jets fan that MOSTLY everyone agreed on one thing that must mean its right WESTHOFF FOR HC
I hate to stand apart from such a common consensus (well, not really!), but I thought special teams, with the exception of individual play by Washington, were pretty mediocre this year. Don't you all remember things like taking penalties for not getting on the field, that sort of thing? And punt coverage was not good. It would have been even worse without Wright being out there. Plus his health is an issue. Not happening.
This guy has a very long and good track record though. Does it really make sense to evaluate him on half of one season? I agree, ST didn't look so good towards the end, but it just seemed like the whole team stopped trying after Tennessee, not just ST. If there's an argument against him, I think it should be more than just that. And yes, he?s had his health problems, but hey, we?ve had Dick Cheney a step away from the presidency for 8 years and he was thought to be on the verge of keeling over the whole time. Seriously though, is the possibility that a guy might have health concerns some time down the road really such a concern when it comes to the HC position? If he was in the middle of battling some major illness I could understand, but as it is it seems unfair to rule him out on the basis of him maybe having health problems in the future. Not to pick an argument ? just my opinion.
He's not my top choice at all, but I don't see how anyone can think he's not the best in-house candidate. Brian "Empty backfield against the worst run D in the NFL" Schottenheimer and Bill "Oakland and Nebraska collapsed on my watch" Callahan scare me. A lot.
He's no worse or better than any other decent special teams coach in the league. Here's the thing - special teams are really only noticeable when bad. Otherwise, the margin between good and great special teams is fairly slim, and there certainly wasn't anything special about our special teams this year or last. So, the question is - what has Westhoff done that he should be so valued? Special teams, save one player, were mediocre last year and mediocre-slash-horrible this year. He's as good as any other good other special teams in the league - no better and no worse. Performance on the field tells us that. No "greatness" shines through, certainly. PLUS, he was up to his gills in one of the worst personnel and draft moves in recent Jets history. Why does he skate from that abomination without a scratch? Can't disagree there.
Vermiel, Levy, Belichick, Cowher, just to name a few. The same thing with these special teams guys. They all demand respect, hold players accountable, have a Whole team approch, the "Earn you job" mentallity have a FIRE thats noticable (namely Levy and Cowher). I really think that we need a guy like this running our entire staff....it trickles down guys. The Jets had that Lesa-fare attitude towards everything the past few years. "Its all part of the process" If thats not a deflectieve remark than i dont know what is and it made me sick to hear Eric say it week in and week out with the same results. Say what you want about Mike Singletarys remarks about Vernon Davis and his team; they simply played better for him. They knew it was not going to be a place where winning was nice; it was expected! I also think that Bobby April would make a fantastic head coach too. I would do cartwheels for Westhoff, just the health thing concerns me.
