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A prominent NFL agent has issued a grave warning for New York Jets fans: don’t expect owner Woody Johnson to make a good call when it comes to hiring the team’s next head coach. This is despite the fact that the Jets have had a head start on all of the other teams in the market for a head coach as they fired Robert Saleh after Week 5.
Not only are the Jets looking for a new head coach, but they’re searching for a new general manager and will also likely be in the market for a new QB if/when they part ways with Aaron Rodgers.
Jets fans hoping for a hire similar to Dan Campbell with Detroit Lions or Dan Quinn with the Washington Redskins ought to temper expectations, according to a plugged-in agent.
Woody Johnson, 77 years old, took ownership of the Jets in 2000 and saw Bill Belichick walk out the door that very same month, and is now on the verge of hiring his eighth head coach and seventh general manager.
“Woody can’t make a good decision,” one ‘prominent coaching agent’ said of the Jets’ head coaching search, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
The Jets have cast a wide net with their head coach search, as they’ve interviewed former NFL coaches, current college coaches and NFL coordinators, and even an ESPN analyst in Rex Ryan, who coach Gang Green from 2009 to 2014.
Thus far, the Jets have completed interview with Ryan, Ron Rivera, Mike Vrabel (who unsurprisingly went to the Patriots), Matt Nagy, Aaron Glenn, Mike Locksley, Steve Spagnuolo, and Darren Rizzi.
The team has also requested interviews with, Joe Brady (Buffalo Bills OC), Arthur Smith (Pittsburgh Steelers OC), Bobby Slowik (Houston Texans OC), Brian Griese (San Francisco 49ers QB coach), Brian Flores (Minnesota Vikings DC), Josh McCown (Minnesota Vikings QB coach), and Vance Joseph (Denver Broncos DC).
Since Johnson took over the franchise in the year 2000, the team has a .428 winning percentage, with is tied for 26th in the league over the last 24 years. They’ve made the playoffs just six times and have had nine winning seasons versus 14 losing seasons. The team currently owns the longest playoff drought among the four major American professional sports leagues at 14 years and counting.