New York Jets: Moves to fix the franchise from top to bottom
Fixing the New York Jets: The Head Coach
Being the coach of any franchise based in New York City is a tough gig. To succeed in the city, the coach needs to be low-key, patient and strictly about football. If your personality is too big, like Rex Ryan’s, you will become a distraction. If you’re too bland, like Todd Bowles, then you lack passion.
And have mercy on your soul if you’re a first-time head coach because this city will rip you apart and have you questioning every decision you make including which bagel you bought on your way to work.
You need to have the right blend of charm, savvy and football IQ for New York City. Nobody’s handled the New York media better than Bill Parcells. But since the Tuna isn’t walking through that door anytime soon and since the most sought after and coveted coaches aren’t clamoring to take a job with a team that is in such disarray, the Jets will need to rummage through the bargain bin a little for coaches who possess these elite traits but are also willing to be part of a rebuilding process.
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The first phone call I would make is to Jim Caldwell. Caldwell was hired by the Miami Dolphins to assist their head coach Brian Flores. However, he took a leave of absence to focus on a medical issue. Assuming he’s healthy, he would be the ideal coach to usher the Jets back to respectability.
His experience as an NFL head coach includes a two-year stint in Indianapolis and as the head coach of the once-lowly and again-lowly Detroit Lions, which impressively included trips to the playoffs for the perennially downtrodden franchise.
Caldwell, a Tony Dungy protégé, was directly involved in some of the best programs of his generation including a Super Bowl-winning Colts team where he was an assistant head coach, and as the offensive coordinator for a Super Bowl-winning Ravens team.
However, in hindsight, his greatest accomplishment may have been whipping the Detroit Lions into a competitive franchise. Nonetheless, Caldwell understands what a winning culture looks like and has been around enough of them to know how to make it happen again.
He also has a history of developing successful quarterbacks which will be crucial for this Jets franchise in the coming years. Sure, working with Peyton Manning made life easy. But Caldwell has also gotten the best out of fringe quarterbacks like Kerry Collins (Penn State), Shaun King (Tampa Bay), Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions).
Caldwell is also the safest character choice. He’s 65 years old. He has reached a point in life where he’s only coaching because he wants to, not because he has to. He will not be dazzled by the bright lights New York nightlife. He will not run out and splurge money on some fancy bachelor pad ala Kliff Kingsbury.
He’ll simply go to work and then go home to his family. He’ll focus on his job and he’ll be a valuable addition to the franchise as a highly accomplished and well respected African-American head coach who will be viewed through the same charming lens as a grandfather who is imparting pearls of wisdom unto his young players.