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The Jets should hire a bench coach.
New York Yankees manager Joe Torre had grizzled veteran coach Don Zimmer on his bench from 1996-2003, a stretch the Bronx Bombers won four World Series Championships.
Las Vegas first-time head coach Antonio Pierce has hired long-time Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis to his staff. He’s also using former NFL head coach Tom Coughlin as a consultant. New NFL head coach Mike Macdonald hired former Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier to his Seattle staff.
A fan responded to my suggestions by tweeting, “Isn’t it much easier to just fire [Robert Saleh? We shouldn’t be talking like this about Saleh – it’s Year 4.”
Well, I don’t fire people, so I’m not going to go there, but I really don’t think it’s ever too late to do this.
You can never have enough brain power, whether it’s on the staff from the beginning, or after three years.
You wouldn’t think Sean Payton would need this kind of assistant after being a head coach with the New Orleans Saints for 15 years, but he hired Mike Westhoff to his staff last year at 75.
There is absolutely no doubt something like this would help the Jets, preferably a former head coach. Westhoff deserved to be one, but never got the chance.
How could this be considered a bad idea in any way?
Maybe a guy like Ron Rivera or Pete Carroll. Saleh used to work for Carroll.
There is no salary cap on coaches.
So unless there are budget issues, why not do this?
It can only help.
After 13 years out of the playoffs, everything should be on the table.
Saleh’s record as Jets coach is 18-33, with records of 4-13, 7-10 and 7-10.
He needs to take his program to the next level, and if Torre benefitted from Zimmer, why wouldn’t Saleh benefit from a Rivera-type?
This program needs to take the next step, and a bench coach could help them do it.
If I were an NFL head coach, I would absolutely have guy like this. Why not? anything that can help my team get better.
Older coaches are a fountain of information. Bill Walsh once said, “I was a better coach at 52 than 32.”
Think about what a resource Aaron Rodgers is going to be upon his return to the field. Now he’s not a coach, but what hasn’t he seen on a football field?
And the good thing about Rodgers, is he not shy about telling people how he feels.
He is going to help the Jets a lot on and off the field.
They need an assistant coach version of that kind of guy as well.
Some would argue Woody Johnson could have used a football savant to lean on over the years to help him evaluate his football operation, not businessmen.
The Commanders new owner, Josh Harris, is using long-time NFL GM Marty Hurney as a consultant.
But that is a different point. The guy I’m talking about is a bench coach who was a head coach before, who the head coach can bounce things off.
That is needed. There is no doubt about it.
“Knowledge is power.” – Sir. Francis Bacon.
February 20, 2024
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