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Did Cowher try to shakedown Jets?


BroadwayJ667

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As the Jets' coaching search begins its second week, details are beginning to emerge of the team's brief flirtation with Bill Cowher and why there were never substantive talks. According to a league source, Cowher's representatives spoke with the team last Tuesday about the opening. They told Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum that the former Steelers coach was 95 percent sure he was not going to return to coaching. Cowher's reps then told Tannenbaum that Jets owner Woody Johnson should call him, insinuating if Johnson offered an exorbitant amount of money, Cowher might change his mind. Johnson, who was out of the country, felt a phone conversation with Cowher would just be a money grab by the coach. Instead, Cowher's people were informed that he would be happy to meet with Cowher when he returned to the country this week. It was then that Cowher withdrew his name from consideration, something that indicated to the Jets he never had serious interest, anyway.

(New York Post)

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Good for Woody. I know you'll all flame him for this, but the fact is this was a good move. I don't want a coach who wants to use us for a payday and a payday alone.

Why not? Players do it all the time...just ask someone like Coles and do you really think our FA's we signed last year had nothing to do about money?

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Why not? Players do it all the time...just ask someone like Coles and do you really think our FA's we signed last year had nothing to do about money?

Oh, it was all about money. Doesn't make it right then either.

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Look, if Cowher was going to come here, Johnson was going to ahve to write him somre really big-$10-12 million per for 4-6 years-checks, and probably a signing bonus upfront. Want Bill Cowher-that's the price. Sorry-everyone in this situation is either a whore or a john, and they know it going in.

What I dislike-Woody Johnson has a $1 billion asset that is facing several serious problems. He has a QB who is possibly about to hold the team's 2009 personnel decisions hostage. He has a new stadium to open in 2010, along with trying to sort out and sell the PSL debacle, and do so in a detioriating economy. And Johnson, by his own choice, decided to fire the head coach.

And then with all these messes, it's time to hit the beach with his skank supermodel dujour.

Is this guy effin' crazy? If your livelihood is this much of a disaster, STAY IN THE OFFICE until this is all settled. Take your vacation after the draft. Enough leaking to the press about this or that candidate being a wonderful human being or Attila the Hun. STFU, decide who's best,write the check and be done with it.

Big problem is Woody Johnson seems to like all this negative nonsense and attention.Scred we have an owner that thinks it's about him, rather than winning football games. THERE'S NO PLAN.

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Tuna

Calling it now

If this all a charade, and Carl Peterson is taking the big boy seat in Miami, it's not the craziest idea.

But Richie Rich doesn't have a plan,and he's not that smart. We have to interview Jeff Jageyechartyzinski in the meantime, as well as the groundskeeper at LSU, Touchdown Jesus, Ozzy Osbourne, your kid's PE teacher, Joba Chamberlain's dad, Mickey Rourke, Robert Plant, etc. in the meantime.

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Look, if Cowher was going to come here, Johnson was going to ahve to write him somre really big-$10-12 million per for 4-6 years-checks, and probably a signing bonus upfront. Want Bill Cowher-that's the price. Sorry-everyone in this situation is either a whore or a john, and they know it going in.

What I dislike-Woody Johnson has a $1 billion asset that is facing several serious problems. He has a QB who is possibly about to hold the team's 2009 personnel decisions hostage. He has a new stadium to open in 2010, along with trying to sort out and sell the PSL debacle, and do so in a detioriating economy. And Johnson, by his own choice, decided to fire the head coach.

And then with all these messes, it's time to hit the beach with his skank supermodel dujour.

Is this guy effin' crazy? If your livelihood is this much of a disaster, STAY IN THE OFFICE until this is all settled. Take your vacation after the draft. Enough leaking to the press about this or that candidate being a wonderful human being or Attila the Hun. STFU, decide who's best,write the check and be done with it.

Big problem is Woody Johnson seems to like all this negative nonsense and attention.Scred we have an owner that thinks it's about him, rather than winning football games. THERE'S NO PLAN.

I think that's a bit extreme, though I can see where you're coming from.

He wanted his HC fired so they can start interviewing people (or contacting people still in the playoffs) as early as possible. Clearly a team can't do that with Mangini still in place.

Generally, the GM will arrange interviews, and do those interviews. Not every owner is as hands-on (or some would say, meddling to a fault) as Jerry Jones or Al Davis. In this one instance, with one Bill Cowher, a HC candidate required the owner to meet with him to even CONSIDER this job. And likely would have required firing people like Tannenbaum who have been blindly loyal to him, forgoing opportunities elsewhere. And as a reward for that, he would have to compensate that HC 2x the going rate for a top-tier candidate - mostly because he simply does not want to coach football this year, as he's publicly stated time & time again.

Since then, he's put out feelers to many coaching candidates. The only ones with a track-record are Cowher, Shanahan, Marty Schottenheimer, and Billick. Cowher isn't interested in coaching; Shanahan wants total control (which was a disaster in Denver), Marty probably wanted the same (and in 20 years as HC has been to the superbowl zero times), and Billick is coming in for an interview. Parcells may also become available in the coming weeks and if he is I'm pretty sure he'll come in to talk to the Jets as well.

I would call this a plan. It may not be the plan that every individual wanted (particularly those who rever Cowher as though he won 5 superbowls with mediocre teams, and left behind a 100% adoring fan base that was not repeatedly maddened by his conservative nature on offense). So while it may not be the plan that every individual here likes, it is a plan.

However, I would agree that if he is going to be actively involved in hiring a new HC (as he was in firing the most recent one and in hiring & extending the one before him), this is a curious (if not shortsighted, or even outright stupid) time to take a vacation abroad.

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There seems to be a lot of smoke about Tanny having Woody's ear and not being willing to cede any of his power which is why the Jets haven't looked strongly at Shanny or Cowher. The idea being that these guys probably wouldn't want to work for Tanny and can afford to say no.

It makes sense to me to be honest and is partially proven by who the Jets seem to be seriously targeting. Lets hope the Tuna comes as I believe he's tight with Tanny..

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Why not? Players do it all the time...just ask someone like Coles and do you really think our FA's we signed last year had nothing to do about money?

People on another board also compared this to CC not wanting to come to the Yankees unless they paid him enough. Whether that is true or not I have no idea but to me it is different. I don't need Coles or CC to inspire and motivate the team, I need the coach to do that and if all of the players know he was not interested in being there except for the money than what message does that send?

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Cowher can go jump in a lake. If he wanted to meet Woody he couldnt hold off for another week? The man doesnt want to coach this year.

Regardless I think he is overrated anyway and there's no telling what type of success he'll have out side of a great organization like Pittsburgh.

If you're going to pay a coach $10 million or more per year his last name better be either Belichic or Parcells.

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This isn't his livelihood though.. It's his HOBBY. It's all the owners hobby.

AEC, the New York Jets were never Woody Johnson's "HOBBY."

Those who can read between the lines, based on his history as owner, can see the truth behind it all - THIS WAS ALL ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL MONEY THROUGH ANCELLARY GAINS.

Woody by purchasing this team has attempted to make money beyond putting a winner on the table & bringing home a trophy.

He has in the past:

  • Saught to build a stadium in Manhattan, not to bring the team home but;
    • To make a S"load of money through the rental of space via...
      • 5 new hotels
      • A 1-mile long shopping plaza with
        • Underground garages
        • Co-Op apartments

        [*]A boat terminal and storage complex

In the present:

  • Is building a state of the art stadium in New Jersey, with the Giants
    • so he can still have...
      • 5 new hotels
      • A 1/2-mile long shopping plaza with
        • Multiple sports clubs
        • Sports apparel
        • Tailgate Stores

And lets not forget the fact that he is not putting out a red cent for this - PSL's & the NFL's loans will pay for everything except 25% of the ancellary.

So tell me AEC4 - Where is he doing this out of the kindness of his heart as a fan of this team?

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Cowher said he would coach if the "right opportunity" existed. A team in which the owner can not bother to meet with him and one in which the would have to go thru Tanny for everything did not meet the standards for "right opportunity."

For Cowher "right opportunity" may very well mean a coaching role similar to Bill Belichick where the coach reports directly to the owner and not the GM.

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Good for Woody. I know you'll all flame him for this, but the fact is this was a good move. I don't want a coach who wants to use us for a payday and a payday alone.

I'm with you on this aec. Good for Woody. If the diva didn't want to wait a week to speak with Woody face to face then f'em.

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I agree. I want a coach who is hungry to be coaching. Someone who wants to be here 100% to make this work. They have to have both the desire, and skills necessary to do to the job. Cowher may have the skills but not the desire. Mangini definitely had the desire, just not the skills unfortunately.

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I agree. I want a coach who is hungry to be coaching. Someone who wants to be here 100% to make this work. They have to have both the desire, and skills necessary to do to the job. Cowher may have the skills but not the desire. Mangini definitely had the desire, just not the skills unfortunately.

So help me if you turn this into Herm's "it's the will not the skill" routine I will ban you faster than you can say Houshmandzadeh.

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Sounds like he was just using it as an excuse. He wasn't coaching anywhere in 2009, like he said a million times already.

Does it not seem strange that if he was not talked to 2 days after a job opening that is it. That after not coaching for a year and a half? Stop blaming Woody for this -

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Cowher said he would coach if the "right opportunity" existed. A team in which the owner can not bother to meet with him and one in which the would have to go thru Tanny for everything did not meet the standards for "right opportunity."

For Cowher "right opportunity" may very well mean a coaching role similar to Bill Belichick where the coach reports directly to the owner and not the GM.

Yeah, and not to mention he had a nice network job he is in that pays well and that he enjoys. He really had no incentive to come coach the Jets, but he did give them a shot and they didn't show what he wanted.

But you have to admit, it's really funny watching the Jets fans melt down. The only time I've seen them positive the past few weeks was with Chad's meltdown...the same QB that beat them the final week of the season in their own stadium.

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