Barnwell: Of 9 potential Head Coach openings the Jets are 7th best opportunity

[jetstream23]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28276535/ranking-best-worst-potential-nfl-head-coaching-openings-2019

 

9. Redskins

8. Giants

Quote

Ranking the best and worst potential NFL head-coaching openings in 2019

7. New York Jets

Biggest strength: Promising quarterback
Biggest weakness: Lack of talent

Speaking of those crosstown rivals, Jets ownership has insisted it won't fire Adam Gase after one season in charge. Given that this is the same organization that let general manager Mike Maccagnan spend millions in free agency and run the 2019 draft before firing him in May, you'll forgive me if I take what they say publicly with a grain of salt.

With that being said, the Jets' late-season ascension to mediocrity against a breathtakingly easy schedule makes it more likely that Gase will get another year in charge. The team has won four of five after starting 1-7, although those wins have come against the teams ranked 23rd (Raiders), 29th (Giants), 31st (Washington) and 32nd (Dolphins) in DVOA. Their one loss came against a hurdle that was apparently too high to top, as they were blown out by the 30th-ranked Bengals in Week 13.

This job is less enticing than it was a year ago, when quarterback Sam Darnoldwas coming off a hot stretch in December and the Jets had more than $100 million in cap space. Cap room won't be hard to come by, given that they are projected with more than $66 million, but after making big signings in each of the past two offseasons, is ownership likely to endorse another spending spree in 2020?

Many of those moves have turned out disastrously. Trumaine Johnson was one of the league's worst cornerbacks in 2018 and was benched in September before going on injured reserve. The Jets will eat $12 million in dead money when they release him after the season. Running back Le'Veon Bell has averaged 3.2 yards per carry in his first season in New York and gotten crossed up in a bowling scandal. Free-agent signee C.J. Mosley injured his groin in the season opener, came back too early, aggravated the injury and then went on injured reserve. Fellow inside linebacker Avery Williamson tore his ACL in the preseason because Gase decided to play him with the backups. Center Ryan Kalil, too, was benched before hitting IR.

The Jets have needed to spend in free agency because their roster has been bereft of young talent. There hasn't been much growth. The only players left on the roster who were drafted before 2016 are running back Bilal Powell, guard Brian Winters and receiver Quincy Enunwa, the latter of whom was most recently seen angrily tweeting about the organization fining him for missing a rehab day. The one clear star the team has drafted is safety Jamal Adams, who was the subject of trade rumors at the deadline and responded with his own angry tweets before making up with the organization.

I haven't even covered all the scandals and bizarre things that have happened to the Jets in 2019. Darnold was sidelined by mono. Guard Kelechi Osemelepublicly argued with the team when he wanted to get surgery on an ailing shoulder, with the Jets eventually releasing the former All-Pro. With all that being said, winning -- even over similarly terrible teams -- can be a cure-all. Unless the Jets are catastrophically bad in their season-ending run against the Ravens, Steelers and Bills, I would expect Gase to be back in 2019.

6. Jaguars

5. Browns

4. Lions

3. Falcons

2. Panthers

1. Cowboys

[Jetsfan80]

Lions, Browns and Jaguars ranked as better jobs, and there's no way anyone could dispute that.  Ouch.  

[bitonti]

if we are being truly brutally honest the 8 and 9 teams are original NFL franchises with a certain amount of cachet 

and the JEts aren't firing Adam gase for a couple years 

[Warfish]

Jets won't be an opportunity because the Jets Coach won't be fired.

[slimjasi]

But the jets aren’t a potential opening, lol

[JustInFudge]

5 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Lions, Browns and Jaguars ranked as better jobs, and there's no way anyone could dispute that.  Ouch.  

I'm pretty sure I could dispute that...

[jetstream23]

2 minutes ago, JiF said:

I'm pretty sure I could dispute that...

I think I could too, at least with the Lions and Jags as I think both have uncertainty at QB that some people don't realize.  Stafford is aging and neither Nick Foles nor Gardner Mustache is going to take Jax any further than a Wild Card berth in the coming years.

[Bleedin Green]

As much as it hurts, it's all pretty spot on and tough to argue with, including the very, very unfortunate likelihood that Gase will keep his job because they are only one of the worst team's in the league, and not simply the very worst of them all.  Best case scenario, Douglas proves himself to be the real deal this coming offseason, and suddenly the intrigue of coaching candidates would quickly change.  We just have to hope that the Johnsons are smart enough to distinguish the improvement of the roster from quality coaching, because Douglas being good at his job should not lead to Gase continuing to undeservedly keep his.

[14 in Green]

12 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Lions, Browns and Jaguars ranked as better jobs, and there's no way anyone could dispute that.  Ouch.  

 I want to say “QBs matter... “ but I won’t. ?

@GREENBEAN

[Kolchak]

10 minutes ago, slimjasi said:

But the jets aren’t a potential opening, lol

Ignoring that fact just to take a shot at the Jets.  High quality analysis!

[Jetsfan80]

1 minute ago, JiF said:

I'm pretty sure I could dispute that...

Could you though?  I like the core of sub-30 year old talent for each of those teams better:

• Lions:  Kenny Golladay (26), Taylor Decker (25), Trey Flowers (26), Darius Slay (28)
• Jaguars:  Cam Robinson (24), Jawaan Taylor (22), Josh Allen (22), Yannick Ngakoue (24)
• Browns:  Myles Garrett (23), Nick Chubb (23), Denzel Ward (22), Greedy Williams (22)

Plus the Jaguars have 18 draft picks over the next 2 years, including 4 first rounders.  Meanwhile, the Browns and Lions have $53M and $44M in cap space in the 2020 offseason, respectively.  

[Jetsfan80]

7 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

I think I could too, at least with the Lions and Jags as I think both have uncertainty at QB that some people don't realize.  Stafford is aging and neither Nick Foles nor Gardner Mustache is going to take Jax any further than a Wild Card berth in the coming years.

What, and we don't have uncertainty at the QB position?

[jetstream23]

1 minute ago, Jetsfan80 said:

What, and we don't have uncertainty at the QB position?

We don't.

[Jetsfan80]

Just now, jetstream23 said:

We don't.

No uncertainty?  You're 100 % convinced Sam Darnold is a franchise guy?  I hope that's not how Joe Douglas is proceeding when evaluating the roster going forward.  

[14 in Green]

7 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

 Nick Foles nor Gardner Mustache is going to take Jax any further than a Wild Card berth in the coming years.

So you’re saying it’s a certainty that the Jets get there and our QB will take us there?

Thats good news.

[kdels62]

21 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Lions, Browns and Jaguars ranked as better jobs, and there's no way anyone could dispute that.  Ouch.  

The Lion and Jaguars are questionable. Neither are rolling in cap dollars and neither has a great QB, DB or OL situation. 

[Jetsfan80]

3 minutes ago, kdels62 said:

The Lion and Jaguars are questionable. Neither are rolling in cap dollars and neither has a great QB, DB or OL situation. 

Lions are projected to have $44M entering the offseason.  That's of course lower than our $62M but they're certainly in very good shape.

The Jaguars certainly have cap issues.  At the moment they're projected to be over the cap in 2020.  But they'll be able to clear a lot of that by cutting Marcell Dareus ($20M in savings) and Calais Campbell ($15M).  And as I mentioned above, they have tons of draft picks the next 2 seasons.  

Yes, all 3 teams have issues at QB, DB and OL.  But so do we.  

[jetstream23]

3 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

No uncertainty?  You're 100 % convinced Sam Darnold is a franchise guy?  I hope that's not how Joe Douglas is proceeding when evaluating the roster going forward.  

I've seen enough to know he's realistically the best QB option.  I think on a good team (not a great team) he can be a Top 10 NFL QB.  There's no prospect in this year's Draft I would take over Darnold.  There was no prospect in last year's Draft I would take over Darnold....and I still feel that way.  I just think we've put this kid through two partial seasons (injuries, Mono) in two different offensive systems with two different supporting casts....neither of which were good.  He's the QB of the 31st or 32nd best offensive roster in football.

I have about a 95% confidence level in Sam Darnold....but again, that's just me.

[Jetsfan80]

3 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

I've seen enough to know he's realistically the best QB option.  I think on a good team (not a great team) he can be a Top 10 NFL QB.  There's no prospect in this year's Draft I would take over Darnold.  There was no prospect in last year's Draft I would take over Darnold....and I still feel that way.  I just think we've put this kid through two partial seasons (injuries, Mono) in two different offensive systems with two different supporting casts....neither of which were good.  He's the QB of the 31st or 32nd best offensive roster in football.

I have about a 95% confidence level in Sam Darnold....but again, that's just me.

 

See, but this isn't the vote of confidence you think he is.  You're saying Sam is better than the options available to us.  Even if that's true that doesn't make him a franchise guy. 

And comparing him to the 2019 QB Class doesn't help either.  Haskins and Daniel Jones blow, and obviously we didn't have a shot at taking Kyler Murray.  

[kdels62]

3 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Lions are projected to have $44M entering the offseason.  That's of course lower than our $62M but they're certainly in very good shape.

The Jaguars certainly have cap issues.  At the moment they're projected to be over the cap in 2020.  But they'll be able to clear a lot of that by cutting Marcell Dareus ($20M in savings) and Calais Campbell ($15M).  And as I mentioned above, they have tons of draft picks the next 2 seasons.  

Yes, all 3 teams have issues at QB, DB and OL.  But so do we.  

Meh the Browns are in decent shape. The other 2 are about on equal footing. Our cap space/ possible trade bait/ young players give us higher potential than the other 2 so thats why I think its a wash. 

[JustInFudge]

9 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Could you though?  I like the core of sub-30 year old talent for each of those teams better:

• Lions:  Kenny Golladay (26), Taylor Decker (25), Trey Flowers (26), Darius Slay (28)
• Jaguars:  Cam Robinson (24), Jawaan Taylor (22), Josh Allen (22), Yannick Ngakoue (24)
• Browns:  Myles Garrett (23), Nick Chubb (23), Denzel Ward (22), Greedy Williams (22)

Plus the Jaguars have 18 draft picks over the next 2 years, including 4 first rounders.  Meanwhile, the Browns and Lions have $53M and $44M in cap space in the 2020 offseason, respectively.  

Yes, I could.  They're 3 of the most historically dysfunctional teams in the NFL and while Jax is a majestic paradise, Cleveland and Detriot are literally hell on earth.   Life style is factor. 

I could see the argument for the Browns because they are truly loaded but I also have the opinion that most head coaches dont want anything to do with Bakery Mayflower after he's shined his true colors this season.  He's a massive headache and not anywhere near good enough to warrant it.

The other under 30 club isnt much more impressive than the Jets IMO and I like our QB situation better and the Jets have extra picks + 66 mil to spend next offseason. 

It's certainly disputable. 

[Jetsfan80]

2 minutes ago, JiF said:

Yes, I could.  They're 3 of the most historically dysfunctional teams in the NFL

And the Jets aren't?

[Jetsfan80]

2 minutes ago, JiF said:

 while Jax is a majestic paradise

lol

[Greensleeves]

11 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

See, but this isn't the vote of confidence you think he is.  You're saying Sam is better than the options available to us.  Even if that's true that doesn't make him a franchise guy. 

And comparing him to the 2019 QB Class doesn't help either.  Haskins and Daniel Jones blow, and obviously we didn't have a shot at taking Kyler Murray.  

No, that's not what he was saying at all, just what you twisted to fit your narrative.

Plus, there have been 0 scandals this year on the Jets, only the made up kind by authors like the one that wrote the article. I would easily take the Jets talent over the Lions and Jags if we are healthy. Add the picks and a few FA's and we should be ready to compete for the playoffs next year.

[Jetsfan80]

3 minutes ago, Greensleeves said:

No, that's not what he was saying at all, just what you twisted to fit your narrative.

Sure it was.  It wasn't ALL he said, but it was part of it, and the only part of his post that deserved a response. 

The "Sam would be a top 10 QB IF" stuff needs to die a swift death.  Talent around you helps.  It doesn't make enough of an impact to take a QB that's ranked outside of the Top 25 in all available metrics and make him a top 10 QB.  Either he'll prove he is "the guy" or he won't.  I'm only willing to give him 2020 to prove that and if not we can't let this become a Sanchez situation.  

[Augustiniak]

33 minutes ago, Bleedin Green said:

As much as it hurts, it's all pretty spot on and tough to argue with, including the very, very unfortunate likelihood that Gase will keep his job because they are only one of the worst team's in the league, and not simply the very worst of them all.  Best case scenario, Douglas proves himself to be the real deal this coming offseason, and suddenly the intrigue of coaching candidates would quickly change.  We just have to hope that the Johnsons are smart enough to distinguish the improvement of the roster from quality coaching, because Douglas being good at his job should not lead to Gase continuing to undeservedly keep his.

if douglass proves to be a good gm and they keep greg williams the team will move in the right direction.  article notes the biggest problem is lack of talent and this is not gase's fault.

[Maxman]

27 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

No uncertainty?  You're 100 % convinced Sam Darnold is a franchise guy?  I hope that's not how Joe Douglas is proceeding when evaluating the roster going forward.  

I am 100% convinced. But I do want Douglas to take the Belichick approach and never leave well enough alone.

[Ohhthepain]

The 2019 offseason was the most important one we've had in over a decade. And of course the Jets found a way to do everything single thing wrong, from the coaching hire, timing of the GM firing, free agency, to the draft picks. Even if we fire Gase, Rhule and McCarthy wouldnt even think twice about interviewing here again. 

[Augustiniak]

Just now, Ohhthepain said:

The 2019 offseason was the most important one we've had in over a decade. And of course the Jets found a way to do everything single thing wrong, from the coaching hire, timing of the GM firing, free agency, to the draft picks. Even if we fire Gase, Rhule and McCarthy wouldnt even think twice about interviewing here again. 

but they may have found the right gm, and if they have it was all worth it.

[JustInFudge]

11 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

And the Jets aren't?

Not as bad as those 3, believe it or not

[Bleedin Green]

4 minutes ago, Augustiniak said:

if douglass proves to be a good gm and they keep greg williams the team will move in the right direction.  article notes the biggest problem is lack of talent and this is not gase's fault.

That would be heading in the right direction, but a new head coach would still be needed.

Gase being a failure for his entire career other than when he stood around watching Peyton Manning is his fault.  The best he's ever had is an ongoing list of excuses as to why it's not his fault he's never proven himself to be particularly good at anything.

[Bleedin Green]

3 minutes ago, JiF said:

Not as bad as those 3, believe it or not

I'll give you the Browns and Lions, but Jags aren't considered quite the level of league-wide laughingstock as those teams or the Jets.  That probably has more to do with a general indifference most have towards the Jags than anything, but it's still true.

[Barry McCockinner]

59 minutes ago, bitonti said:

if we are being truly brutally honest the 8 and 9 teams are original NFL franchises with a certain amount of cachet 

and the JEts aren't firing Adam gase for a couple years 

Take it back!

[Augustiniak]

9 minutes ago, Bleedin Green said:

That would be heading in the right direction, but a new head coach would still be needed.

Gase being a failure for his entire career other than when he stood around watching Peyton Manning is his fault.  The best he's ever had is an ongoing list of excuses as to why it's not his fault he's never proven himself to be particularly good at anything.

while this may be true, he's not the reason for the way this season has played out.  they are currently even with darnold as the starter and that includes the opener when he had mono.  they have a 4-3 record at home.  the o-line may be the worst in the nfl.  herndon didn't play all year.  a good gm can make gase look good b/c the team will improve.  then i'll worry about the coach. 

[T0mShane]

1 hour ago, bitonti said:

if we are being truly brutally honest the 8 and 9 teams are original NFL franchises with a certain amount of cachet 

and the JEts aren't firing Adam gase for a couple years 

The Giants job is far and away a better job than the Jets, especially when they fire Gettleman. The Redskins is probably a worse job than the Jets, though.