Jets Waiting for Ryan?

Yeah it's looking extremely likely that Rex will be the coach, pretty exciting

 

I guess it depends on who is reporting.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-c5997335jan13,0,651953.story

Tannenbaum struggling with final cuts for coach

BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com
January 13, 2009


Mike Tannenbaum is now on the clock.

The Jets, since firing Eric Mangini on Dec. 29, have interviewed eight candidates to replace him.

Though the door isn't completely closed to someone else entering the mix, it appears the Jets have the final field from which they will choose their next coach.

All that's left is for Tannenbaum to make his recommendation to owner Woody Johnson, but therein lies the problem.

"Mike's having a hard time pulling the trigger," a league source familiar with the Jets' search said yesterday.

The source described the general manager as having a good deal of difficulty with the call, the most important of his Jets career, which dates to 1997.

Various "favorites" - from Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan - have been reported in the last 10 days, reflective of Tannenbaum's leanings on a given day.

Tannenbaum's choice is likely to come from those three, with Ryan, interviewed during a five-hour session in Baltimore on Sunday, the latest to impress. Ryan's interview was described by an organizational source as having gone "very well." The Jets are very high on Ryan and vice versa.

Cardinals assistant head coach Russ Grimm has a slimmer chance. The others interviewed - Jets assistant head coach Bill Callahan, former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh and Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks - are considered long shots at best.

Tannenbaum, the league source said, is strongly considering giving the nod to Schottenheimer but is mindful of what the reaction of the media and, most important, the fans would be.

"Mike has been more sensitive to the media and fan reaction than he has been," the source said.

Schottenheimer's strong candidacy is perplexing to many fans, though another source said the 35-year-old coordinator, a past finalist for jobs in Miami (2007) and Baltimore (2008), was severely restricted by Mangini in what he was able to do. If Schottenheimer doesn't get the job, the Jets still would like to find a way to keep him.

Tannenbaum has not established a time frame for himself - at least publicly - to make a decision. Ironically, there is the potential that the better the Ravens' defense plays and the more wins Baltimore strings together this postseason, the worse it will be for Ryan's candidacy.

There are concerns about what kind of coaching staff the Jets will have next season, as members of Mangini's staff already have departed and other openings for assistants on non-playoff teams are being filled. Jets quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll is about to join Mangini in Cleveland, defensive line coach Dan Quinn just left to coach on Jim Mora Jr.'s staff in Seattle, and more exits are expected.

 

It sounds like Schottenheimer is a stronger candidate in Tannenbaum's eyes than any of us imagined he'd be. It's curious that Boland thinks Schottenehimer "was severely restricted by Mangini in what he was able to do."

Some of us had suspected that for awhile. I this was so under Mangini, it explains a lot concerning some of the calls later in the season.

It also explains why Mangini was dumped and Schotty is still here, at least for the time being.

 

BINGO!


Schottenheimer's strong candidacy is perplexing to many fans, though another source said the 35-year-old coordinator, a past finalist for jobs in Miami (2007) and Baltimore (2008), was severely restricted by Mangini in what he was able to do. If Schottenheimer doesn't get the job, the Jets still would like to find a way to keep him

:up:

 

if Tanny hires Schotty and it blows up in his face....that'll be his job....and he knows this. I think that's where the hesitation stems from. ....anything less than a playoff berth with Schotty Jr at the helm would spell Tanny's termination, IMO.

 

I really have no strong opinion about who gets the job but....

If Tanny thinks that Shotty is the best candidate then he should hire him regardless of what the fans think. If other candidates are deemed by him to be not as good, that is a chance he needs to take.

Granted he would have to win the fans over, but a good product on the field would make that very easy.

 

I think Ryans our guy, but i'm worried as an article stated, that there won't be many guys left for him to assemble a staff, if the Ravens get to the SB.
I can only hope he's been secretly offered the job, and is already putting out "feelers" to guys he wants. Sorta like, "if i get hired, would you..."

 

Not only that, I think Sutton wasn't free to coach as he saw fit either. Both of these coordinators took a lot of heat for Mangini's conrol freak issues.

What the heck is it that turns innovative coaches into "playing not to lose" types? Mangini was pretty good in year one, but the longter he was here, the more conservative he got. Even Spags... what the F was up with a three man rush against Philly? I wasn't crazy about a 4-3 guy anyway, but after watching that game... keep Spags in blue, TYVM.

 

Man, that is so true. Good post. Conservative bullshit gets them in trouble every time. I think they forget their roots... stay hungry and aggressive. And above all, don't lose your ability to TAKE RISKS, for Christ Sake. Taking risks, giving it a shot and mixing it up is what keeps the other team off balance. You stop doing that and you become just another predictable freakin' team like all the others.

How have you been, by the way, you cantankerous, miserable old son of a bitch?

I was "talking" to Kurt this morning. What a fucking season, huh? Missed you at TC last August, Bud.

 

If this article is right and that Schottenheimer really was held back, which I don't think is totally true, even if it has truth to it... and Tannenbaum goes with someone else in order to "save face" then we are really in trouble. He can't be worrying about people's opinions, and just do what is right for the team.

 

And that would be to not hire Schottenheimer. The Jets need a new guy with a new philosophy. Ryan is the best choice. He plays a 3-4 and he's been extremely successful. Here's hoping the Steelers can take out the Ravens!

 

I don't disagree with what you're saying at all.

My point is that if Tannenbaum is more concerned with his public perception than what is right by the team (which ultimately he has to decide, despite what we think)... then we have a huge problem at the GM position.

 

I don't get it. We ran the ball 11 times against the 49ers. The last half of the season we ran empty-backfield sets on pretty much every single third down. That's not conservative playcalling. That's stupid playcalling. It was designed to showcase Favre, and it failed.

So, what you're saying is, Mangini put it all on Favre against Schotty's wishes and got fired for it, while the FO and ownership sucked BF off in Mangini's Fired presser and now everything's fixed? Fuck that. They're going to force a CS onto the next rookie HC they hire, just like they did with the last 2. This isn't going to fix anything.

 

Cantankerous?!? Grouchy is easier to spell. :grin:

That whole awards thing here was not fun... and I stopped visiting. Aside from that, I started a landscaping biz, and worked for Scotts (the fertilizer co.)as well as an advisor on weekends. Kept me pretty busy. I'll do my best to go to Jersey for TC this year though. I'll try and hook up with you then.

Abyz, I broad brushed this whole conservative thing, but it was more on the D side. These 3 man rushes in the nickel and dime (appropriately named) defenses drives me nuts. Good defenses always attack, they don't lay back. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are examples. Even with a lead, even more so, they rush 4, blitz, jump routes, attack. They try to put the game away by attacking, not going into a defensive shell. Use Rhodes the way those teams use Reed and Polamalo (sorry, still can't spell pacific rim names). And NO, I am not saying Rhodes is in their league, but he can be used far more effectively in an attack defense in my opinion.

As far as who was doing the play calling, we really don't know... all we can do is guess. It's a debate that is guess-work/opinion oriented, and as such, has no clear conclussion that could be reached by so many with differing opinions.

Having said that, after watching Spags go turtle against Philly, he is my 3rd choice behind Ryan and Schotty in that order. Ryan as HC, Schotty asst HC and O coordinator. I could live with that very easilly. Schotty developed Rivers, and as long as Favre soesn't come back, we need a coach that can develop Clemens and Ratliff and any rook we might draft. I would not be surprised to see Griese signed as a backup either.

 

I'll waite for Rex and if we lose our OC, oh well. Just hire Jim Harbaugh as the OC.

As for DC, Rob Ryan still has not signed with Cleveland and he surely would come to NY if Rex asked.

Who better to run your defense than you twin bother?

Westoff is in place at ST so we are pretty good there.

 

Rob Ryan hasn't signed with the Browns just like Daboll hasn't signed with the Browns, because both are still serving out the end of their contracts which probably ends sometime after the Super Bowl. It would be against the law and NFL rules for them to sign right now. Rob Ryan is definitely going to be running the defense in Cleveland.

 

I like Schottenheimer, and honestly, I like the idea of having an offensive guy as our head coach, thats something we havent had in a while. Even back under Herm, the story was always that the defensive head coaching was leaving the offensive coordinator hamstrung. Seeing an offensive guy at the helm might be a refreshing change of pace.

On the other hand, if Schottenheimer takes the reins, I don't know where we go for a defensive chief. We certainly don't have anybody that compelling on the staff currently, at least not that Im aware of. With all the talent we have defensively, I hate to think that we'd have somebody inexperienced or unqualified calling the plays, we need somebody legit coaching this unit.

That to me is why Ryan is the way to go. Assuming Schottenheimer doesn't object to coaching under him, he'll likely be able to do his thing; the Ravens are famous for inept offense and stout defense, so I doubt Ryan will come in here and tell the offensive staff to keep it small and safe. The issue of course is that Schottenheimer's contract is up next year, and he's already gotten enough sniffs as a head coach that he might be less willing to resign here playing for a guy that he never chose to work for.

Whats clear is that every day the Jets don't hire Schottenheimer or Spagnuolo, it becomes more and more likely that they'll eventually give the job to Rex. As long as its not Spagnuolo, I never understood the fascination with this guy, his defense gets to the quarterback but doesn't do anything else particularly well. Ryan's defense gets to the quarterback, roughs up the runningback, and intercepts the ball like its nobodys business, based solely on their defensive chops Spagnuolo doesnt even compare to Ryan.

 

That, so far, would be the most compelling argument for me to promote Schotty to HC, although I would still pretty much hate it. Not so much because of the OC not being hamstrung, but because it seems the unit that the HC does not specialize many times seems to be the one that excels in recent history. Guys like Billick and Dungy both specialized in the opposite side of the field from the unit that was pretty much winning them games. Probably because they leave them alone, they don't micromanage and get elbow-deep in making changes in the unit that they don't specialize in. We need defense more than anything in this division, because most of the pieces are certainly not in place to build a dominant offense.

Still... I'd hate Schotty as HC until he proved me wrong.