Well, at least it isn't quite doom or gloom. 2014 is when we'll see things in a more positive direction. It could happen next year, but that's only if we strike gold with a QB.
This^ SOJF and/or SOFPOS (Mike Fatcessa) What the hell, I don't expect John Idzik to fill so many holes in a day. Even if 2013's an on-field mess from the talent dropoffs of 2011 & 2012 so be it. There is no reason to compromise the long term picture by throwing away future draft picks to grab cosmetic, so-so talented plug-ins. Let 2013 play itself out--take our medicine for a year--so long as this April's draft builds upon improving the foundation of the roster while maintaining a full set of draft picks for what looks to be a pretty deep 2014 draft. (along with some don't-break-the-bank, useful FA's).
Not that I have a clue what the actual chain of command is but a viable model is having Glat, Idzik and Rex all reporting directly to Woody. Glat responsible for the business end and as the head of the organization if something takes Woody out of action for any reason. Idzik responsible for player acquisition, retention, cap and football operations. Rex responsible for his coaches, the players under contract and preparation and play. In that org chart Woody is manager of all the top managers and presumably sits back and lets a well-oiled machine compete until something goes wrong at which point it's his job to step in and make the necessary changes to get the machine running again. This is basically the Steelers model over the decades and it relies on everybody understanding their role and on the owners taking the right tack if things go wrong. There's no way the Steelers have 3 head coaches in 40 years if the head coach gets fired every time the GM/Dir of Football Operations gets fired. There's no big shakeup when a GM retires. His department usually provides the replacement and things just keep chugging. You can't argue with 40 years of success. Edit: As an example of where this might have served the Jets in the recent past. How different are the Jets fortunes in the decade of the 2000's if Herm Edwards doesn't wind up as the scapegoat in 2005 in a season when injuries, iffy drafting, past free agent defections and the resulting shortfalls took the Jets down for the count? The Jets stay in a 4-3, which is what they were drafting for all along, the GM changes because the 2005 roster was a total mess that had been building for several years, Herm gets a shot at rebounding and the Jets have a shot at a 10 year coach. Instead we wind up with two more coaches in the next 4 seasons and multiple resets on the defensive side of the ball while the offense never really gets off the ground. Herm is the only coach in NY Jets history to take 3 teams to the playoffs in a 4 year span. You have to evaluate the head coach and the GM separately and not in a linear fashion where the first guy down is always the head coach because he reports to the GM.
A football man down to the core http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/stor...tball-man-core By Rich Cimini | ESPNNewYork.com What makes a man a football man? John Idzik, son of a coach, grew up in the sport. As a youngster, he scribbled X's and O's on a kiddie chalkboard, sat alongside his father for countless hours as he studied game tape and annoyed his sisters at the dinner table with intense, father-son football conversations. As a teen, Idzik followed his father to NFL training camps, including the New York Jets' in the late 1970s. He washed jock straps, ran errands and served as a ball boy, staying close to the game he loved. He played wide receiver at Dartmouth, won a couple of Ivy League titles and earned an unsuccessful tryout with the New England Patriots. Does that make the Jets' new general manager, better known for his salary-cap acumen, a football man? Idzik discovered the answer to that question when he tried to get away from the game, when he got a job in the corporate world IBM figuring that was the best way to utilize his degree in scientific mathematics. It was a good life, but it wasn't the life he wanted. After six years at IBM, Idzik returned to his parents' home in Chadds Ford, Pa., and made the big announcement. It started with, "I want you to sit down," his mother, Joyce, recalled Friday night. "I know you and dad sacrificed a lot to get me into the school I wanted," Joyce Idzik remembered her son saying that day. "Solving math problems is terrific -- I like my job -- but there are no people involved. I miss football." With that pronouncement, Idzik began a 23-year journey that took him from Scotland to Durham, N.C., to Tampa to Phoenix to Seattle and, finally, to New York. His career path reads like the lyrics to a Steve Miller Band song. Keep on rockin me, baby. "Football was always in my blood," Idzik once said. Now he gets a chance to fix one of the most publicized franchises in the NFL, a team on the decline. It's a tough job, but this is something he always dreamed about -- a chance to run his own team. Until a few days ago, Idzik was a relatively anonymous executive with the Seattle Seahawks, their vice president of football administration. Now he enters one of the biggest stages in sports, taking control of the loud and controversial Jets and trying to prove he's more than a numbers guy. "He's apparently very good with the cap, but he likes to have his hand in football, too," his mother said. "He doesn't want to be excluded from being around the ballplayers." Until a few days ago, Idzik was a relatively anonymous executive with the Seattle Seahawks, their vice president of football administration. Now he enters one of the biggest stages in sports, taking control of the loud and controversial Jets and trying to prove he's more than a numbers guy. "He's apparently very good with the cap, but he likes to have his hand in football, too," his mother said. "He doesn't want to be excluded from being around the ballplayers." His father was a ballplayer, and a good one -- a football man to the core. John Idzik was a schoolboy star in Philadelphia, played in the Marines and played fullback at the University of Maryland in the late 1940s. He got into coaching, college and pro -- 10 different places in 27 years, including three seasons as the Jets' quarterbacks coach under Walt Michaels. Sadly, Idzik's health is failing. He's 84, battling dementia, diabetes and heart problems, according to his wife, who said neurologists believe the dementia was caused by too many blows to the head in football. She recalled times when he was knocked unconscious and returned a few plays later. "It makes me sick to see him go downhill," Joyce said. "He was so vibrant." The eldest Idzik uses a walker and requires 24-hour care. He doesn't speak much. He says "yes" and "no," and nods his head. When told the news Friday that his son was the new boss of the Jets, he nodded and said, "Jets," according to Joyce. "Sometimes," she said, "he opens his brain and he's back for a short time." She once asked him if he regretted playing football, and he said "no," because there was no other way he could've gone to college. Keenly aware of the ravages of the sport, Idzik refused to let his son play football until middle school. That didn't make John happy, but he also played baseball and tennis. He was so obsessed with sports that his mother once asked, "Don't you want to date?" No time for that, he told her. Much like Rex Ryan, whose father, Buddy, was a longtime coach, Idzik had the benefit of seeing the NFL from the inside. During his high-school years, he worked as a summer ball boy with the Philadelphia Eagles and Jets. "I was hanging around as a ball boy, a PR assistant, doing odd jobs," Idzik once said. "[The NFL] was always a big part of my life." His father coached the Jets' quarterbacks from 1977 to 1979, in the middle of the celebrated Richard Todd-Matt Robinson controversy. Idzik reportedly sided with Todd, leading to a clash with Michaels, who fired him and hired Joe Walton. The fact that I didn't get along with the old man doesn't mean the son isn't good," Michaels said by phone, recalling vague memories of young John as a ball boy. The Jets had a couple of players from Dartmouth, and they sold him on the school. Idzik was an athletic and academic standout, playing wide receiver and graduating with magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors. Idzik's quarterback was Dave Howard, the New York Mets' executive vice president of business operations. In fact, they lived in the same dorm, Howard only a couple of doors down from Idzik. Dartmouth's Class of '82 is well represented on the New York sports landscape. After Dartmouth, Idzik coached the receivers at the University of Buffalo for a year before deciding to join the real world. He landed a job at IBM, moving from White Plains, N.Y., to Atlanta to Tampa. Six years in a shirt and tie was enough. "I wasn't shocked that he wanted to get back into football," his mother said. "Life is too short. You have to be happy." Idzik's return didn't occur on American soil; in 1990, he got a job as an assistant coach with the Aberdeen Oilers of the British American Football League. He and his pregnant wife, Carol, lived in Scotland. He returned to the States and became a graduate assistant at Duke, where he assisted the offensive line and running backs and earned a master's degree. He also served as a liaison to NFL scouts who visited the campus. After two years, Idzik returned to his previous home -- Tampa -- with no job and a house payment. He landed a job as a pro-personnel assistant with the Tampa Bay Bucs, starting an 11-year climb through the organizational ranks. With his math background, Idzik gravitated toward the business side of the operation and eventually was put in charge of managing the salary cap. A former Bucs colleague described him as bright and a hard worker, an excellent cap manager. "John was pushy; he wanted to get into personnel," the former colleague said. "He had a goal: He wanted to be a general manager." Those were good times. After decades of misery, the Bucs assembled an outstanding team and won the Super Bowl after the 2002 season. It was the second Super Bowl ring for the Idzik family; his dad was a backfield coach for the Baltimore Colts, which captured Super Bowl V. Eventually, Idzik lost his job as assistant GM, the result of a power struggle in which coach Jon Gruden brought in his own people to the front office. He spent three years as the Arizona Cardinals' senior director of football operations before moving to the Seahawks in 2007. "He's a sharp individual, a very bright guy," said player agent Alan Herman, who has negotiated several contracts with Idzik. "He knows his stuff, and he has a feel for personnel. It's a real good hire, in my opinion." "How difficult will it be for him?" asked former Denver Broncos GM Ted Sundquist, who interviewed for the job. "Things will come up that will surprise John because he hasn't done it before. Ultimately, it boils down to, how do you solve problems?" Those problems, Sundquist said, could range from settling draft-room disputes to deciding whether to serve chicken or beef on the team flight. With the Jets, it'll mean co-existing with a polarizing coach, trying to fix the quarterback situation, and so on. For the first time in his life, Idzik will have to deal with the media. "He's kind of private," Joyce Idzik said of her son. "That doesn't mix with New York, but I think he's tough enough to handle it. He gets that from his father."
Screw Cimini, friggin hack. I barely ever follow him, but yesterday he was tearing the Jets apart about this. THEN he decides to go and do research? Fuck him.
Hahaha. Cimini's trying to save face after putting out that lie about him being another cap guy. Unreal. That lie is posted on the main page of this site as well. I don't understand the need to try to undermine the Jets success by any means necessary. Tell the truth. That's all I'm asking. Don't be so blinded in your hate that you lie.
The guy is a fucking tool. The fact that he commands so much attention from fans & other sports outlets shows how low the bar has dropped when it comes to journalism. This generation is very lucky; we are to have internet blogs/forums to follow sports. I just don't know how you could follow this team today if the only exposure you had to it was crap like Cimini & Manesh constantly dissing them & steering every article to show Jets as incompetent idiots. Draft picks suck ass before they even step on the field. GM sucks before he even drafts a player or signs a FA, etc..
The GM gives the HC a set number of players. As much as I don't want to see Sanchez playing QB for the Jets, he still will be one of the cards in the HC's deck of cards. I can't see how the GM can be faultered should Sanchez step onto the field.
two days ago the Dickwad from espn.ny declared that Idzik was just another Tanny clone cap nerd today the very same Dickwad declared that the Idzik is a lifelong football guy which is it Dickwad?
Good post. Herm gets fired, penny gets healthy, and Mangenious is born :rofl2: An excellent insight to the nature of the media as well. And the Steelers model is what was on my mind when Woody had the presser. I think he may be getting it.
We need to strike "silver" at QB not Gold, A guy who doesn't turn the ball over at light speed and can still make plays when he has to..............................Alex Smith, But i would also like to point out that Alex Smith failed in the west coast offense his first 4 years in the league until Hardbaugh saved him
Quite a ringing endorsement of Idzik and this coming from Tony Dungy: "Former Bucs and Colts coach Tony Dungy gave a glowing endorsement of Idzik. Remember, they worked together for several years in Tampa, building the team that eventually won a Super Bowl under Jon Gruden. Dungy and Idzik have remained close." "John Idzik was a big part of our success in Tampa and I believe he'll do a great job in New York," Dungy said in a statement released by NBC Sports. "He is extremely bright and he knows talent. He's been around football all his life and he understands what it takes to win the NFL. From a coach's perspective he was great to work with because he was so knowledgeable but was also a good listener. John is a high quality person and the Jets are very fortunate to have him."
another good article http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/jets/cap_on_praise_for_idzik_move_HwSvX7D9D5tAU8MrLnpboO FYI...the Jets currently are at about 146 million, after they cut Scott, Pace, Tebow, & both Smiths, that will cut 33 million off leaving us at 113 mill on an estimated 123 million cap for 2013.....we will need to sign all draft choices & some of these FA's....this guy better bring a magic wand with him.... Free Agents: Shonn Greene UFA Dustin Keller UFA Jeff Cumberland RFA Nick Folk UFA Brandon Moore UFA Matt Slausen UFA LaRon Landry UFA Yeremiah Bell UFA Austin Howard RFA
I have the feeling the Jets will shop Cromartie. That frees up enough under the cap that the Jets will be able to work some before they make the tough choices like Pouha and how to handle Revis.
While I agree with you the question begs - what happens if Mark takes to the WC and out performs whomever is brought in to compete at QB? Whether its Moore, Flynn, Jackson, Alex Smith - whomever. If Mark outshines the competitors in the QB competition - is all lost? Is it doom? Is Wiz not involved with the decision? Rex weilds all power? Well we have a chance to correct that right now. To think Rex can't evolve into a good or great HC with OC abilities is like Saying Belicheat can't turn himself into an OC mastermind from a defensive guru.
Just thought id dig this up,I love looking back at shit like this,at first he seemed like the right guy its funny how this stuff turns out,I really liked Idzik for the first few months until I saw what he really was
