Analysis: Jets' Search Begins And Ends With Cowher

[Jetscode1]

Nice read on Mangini and the need for Cowher...

By JEFF CAPELLINI, WCBSTV.com Senior Sports Producer

It's not often Jets ownership and management get credit for doing something right, but in the case of firing Eric Mangini, they have scored a touchdown, nailed the 2-point conversion and recovered the onsides kick.

Mangini had to go. Someone had to pay for this disaster of a season. The Jets have been notorious for letting things slide, for letting coaches have a chance to redeem themselves following bitter disappointments.

They've finally seen the light.

Mangini may one day be a successful coach, but it may not happen in the NFL. He may be the next coming of Pete Carroll. Maybe he resurfaces in the college ranks and takes moldable young men and makes them into winners. It was clear, however, he was never going to do this in New York with the Jets. He will probably get another shot in the NFL, maybe as early as this upcoming offseason, but many people think Mangini's orchestration of the whole "Spygate" saga will hurt him with future job opportunities.

That said, though, can you see Mangini coaching the Cleveland Browns, or maybe another downtrodden organization that knows nothing of winning and needs a fresh young face? That's the latest trend in the NFL. Take guys who nobody has ever heard of and let them loose in cities that don't necessarily have as great expectations as a city like New York.

It has worked beautifully in cities like Baltimore, Miami and Atlanta. All three are in the playoffs. None of the three have Brett Favre, Thomas Jones or Kris Jenkins.

It didn't work in Gotham, nor would it have had Jets CEO Woody Johnson decided this past season was simply an aberration.

Facts are facts. The Jets had no injuries. Their schedule was a joke. They had seven Pro Bowl selections. They had Favre, old or not, injured or not. They overcame an early adjustment period to start 8-3.

For Mangini, there was simply no excuse for what followed.

His game-planning left a lot to be desired. He had no answers for Shaun Hill, a rather unremarkable quarterback, when the Jets went to San Francisco in Week 14 and lost.

His lack of in-game adjustments was glaring. Teams passed at will against the Jets this season and Mangini seemed adamant against blitzing to get more pressure on the quarterback.

His inability to get his veterans to rise above the malaise that enveloped the team over the last five weeks of the regular season was borderline obscene. The Seattle loss will live in infamy. The Seahawks had a makeshift offensive line, their backup quarterback and no receivers to speak of yet still won rather easily.

Mangini's calm, cool and collected demeanor in the face of adversity might have worked if he had been any good at any other of the above complaints.

Every now and then the throwing of a chair or media explosion or calling people out or throwing someone under the bus is called for. Talk of "preparation" and "processes" fall on deaf ears when teams don't respond after falling into a chasm.

The bottom line is Mangini went 23-25 in three full seasons and 0-1 in the playoffs with talent. That will never cut it in New York, even in the case of the Jets, where a mere playoff appearance is often considered an epic triumph.

Credit the Jets for acting swiftly. Credit Johnson for not being Leon Hess. Credit Mike Tannenbaum for not being any number of the GMs that have been through the ringer with this organization.

Now comes the question: who's next?

It may be a bit too early to discuss possible replacements, but this is the NFL after all. You snooze, you lose. The Jets will act quickly. One has to just hope they have already had discussions in smoke-filled rooms with a certain former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Yes, Bill Cowher is the answer. He's everything Mangini isn't.

It may cost Johnson millions upon million to get him, but if Cowher is interested, the Jets have to get him. Various reports say the 51-year-old is not interested in returning to an NFL sideline in 2009, but that doesn't mean he won't return. It just means the Jets may have to blow him away.

What Favre ultimately decides regarding his future is unimportant in the hiring. Even the casual observer can tell he looks done. Now, maybe Favre would benefit from a full year with the organization and would flourish in Year 2. But, with his arm strength status in question and with a new regime coming in with probably a slew of new coaches and philosophies, Favre, if healthy and motivated, may once again be a man on an island.

If Cowher came to New York, the Jets would immediately be transformed into a no-nonsense team that would pride itself on defense, a running game and accountability. Of course, the issue of who will play quarterback will hang in the balance for months. Will it be Favre? Will it be Kellen Clemens? Will it be soon-to-be free agent Matt Cassel?

Who knows? The Jets' biggest problem right now is the same problem that has plagued this team for the better part of its existence. You can count the number of good coaches this team has had on one hand.

Weeb Ewbank, Walt Michaels, Bill Parcells. That's it. All three took the Jets either to the Super Bowl or within one win. Everyone else, and there have been so many it's easy to lose count, have been good men with good hearts who have thought they had the right stuff, only to find out it takes a lot more than that to guide this perennial laughingstock of an organization.

Guys like Joe Walton, Bruce Coslet, Carroll, Rich Kotite, Herman Edwards and Mangini, among others, have had some success, but in the NFL anyone can make the playoffs once or maybe twice given the sheer amount of talent that's available each year.

What this organization needs is a proven winner, a man who consistently challenges for championships, a man who makes it clear from the first day of training camp that it's his way or the highway. The Jets need a guy who gnashes his teeth and spits when he yells, a man who hates division rivals as much as the fans do.

Cowher could very well be that guy. No, check that ... he is that guy.

Off the field, the Jets have shown a desire to be the best in the last year. They have spent money. They clearly know how to draft as evidenced by the likes of Leon Washington, Nick Mangold, David Harris and Darrelle Revis. They have raised the level of expectations. They have wasted little time ridding the organization of a regime that had simply seen its best days.

Johnson and Tannenbaum need to keep operating along these lines. They need to make Cowher an offer he can't refuse. They can't let him go to Cleveland, Detroit, Dallas, Cincinnati or Kansas City, assuming each have openings at some point. Various reports have indicated that Cowher does not have any interest in the Cleveland opening, but maybe that's because he doesn't see the Browns winning immediately.

The Jets are a win-now operation and will remain as such for the forseeable future. That, plus Johnson's boatloads of money would have to at least get Cowher thinking about relinquishing his hold on the CBS pre-game show and getting his whistle going again.

If Cowher is ever in the fold, we'll all be able to sit back and watch how an NFL coach is supposed to operate.

The results will come. There's not a Jets fan alive that would have a question in his or her mind about Cowher.

He's that good. He's got the ability to slay the curse of Joe Willie.

Favre or no Favre

http://wcbstv.com/sports/jets.bill.cowher.2.896347.html

[CTM]

Good article. Agree with most of it..

Thanks for posting..

[SMC]

Pretty spot on.

[BP]

Who knows? The Jets' biggest problem right now is the same problem that has plagued this team for the better part of its existence. You can count the number of good coaches this team has had on one hand.

Weeb Ewbank, Walt Michaels, Bill Parcells

Walt Michaels?

Thanks for posting the article.

[Matt39]

Couldnt have summed up Mangini any better.

He never seemed to call out the defense, ever. Calling out Dustin Keller of all people, the guy had to go.

The way he treated Pete Kendall last season showed a lot about Mangini.

[Jetscode1]

Walt Michaels?

Thanks for posting the article.

I liked Walt Michaels...the first time I saw where a team actually fired a head coach just so they wouldn't lose an assistant...there's a lesson in there somewhere. Joe Walton !!!