Florham Park – It’s time for a different approach.
If the Jets want to right their ship, they should tweak how their football operation is structured.
They need to change the separation of powers approach where the GM just focuses on the roster, and the coach just focuses on coaching, with both reporting to the owner equally. It’s not working particularly well.
They need to do what the Denver Broncos did with Sean Payton and the Los Angeles Chargers did with Jim Harbaugh – hire a top-shelf coach, and let that person be the football czar, the one central figure where the buck stops with all football decisions.
You still have a GM. The Broncos have George Paton and the Chargers, Joe Hortiz, and they oversee the scouting department, but all final personnel decisions are made by Payton and Harbaugh. Look how those teams are doing this year!
That was the setup in New England with Bill Belichick for 24 years and they won six Super Bowls!
So you hire a big-time coach, like Mike Vrabel, and throw him the car keys. Yes, he would still have a GM, but there will be no doubt who is in charge.
The Jets had this set-up briefly at the end of Leon Hess’ tenure as owner with Bill Parcells, and they fixed their culture and went to an AFC Championship.
If Woody and Christopher want to fix the Jets once and for all – this is what they need to do, and they can’t let people steer them away from this like what happened in Atlanta.
*******
To subscribe to Jets Confidential Magazine, our online Whispers, or both, click on one of the options below. A Jets Confidential subscription makes a great holiday gift for a Jets fan. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
