Was hiring Boyer a good move?

Today Dan Leberfeld takes a look at the Jets’ new special teams coach Brant Boyer. Was this a good move? Let’s take a closer look . . .

Boyer spent the last three years working as assistant special teams coach in Indianapolis under Tom McMahon in Indianapolis.

Boyer learned a lot from McMahon the last three years. McMahon is a really good special teams coach. After this regular season, Colts coach Chuck Pagano fired defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, safeties coach Roy Anderson, secondary coach Mike Gillhamer, head strength and conditioning coach Roger Marandino, tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts and running backs coach Charlie Williams.

He kept McMahon. That says a lot.

Prior to taking over the Colts’ special teams, McMahon ran the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams special teams.

So McMahon has a ton of experience running special team’s units, and he imparted that wisdom on Boyer.

And also, keep in mind, that when Pagano took over the Colts in 2012, he had a different special teams coach the first year – Marwan Malouf, who was fired after one season. While Pagano fired Malouf, he and McMahon kept his assistant Boyer. That says something.

Boyer also had a 10-year NFL career where special teams work was a big part of his resume

During his playing career, Boyer played linebacker and was a standout on special teams for the Miami Dolphins (1994), Jacksonville Jaguars (1995-2000) and Cleveland Browns (2001-03). He served as a special teams captain for both the Jaguars and Browns and led the unit in tackles in 2002 and 2003. Boyer was a two-time member of the USA Today’s All-Joe Team, once as a linebacker and once as a special team’s player. In 2002, his teammates selected him for the Cleveland Browns Unsung Hero Award.

So this guy is ready for prime time.

And this hire fits into a theme you see with Todd Bowles staff – Boyer is a former player. Bowles likes guys that have done the job, not just coached the position.

Bowles like guys that have been in the trenches. Bobby April wasn’t one of those guys. Boyer is.

Boyer was one of those Chad Cascadden kind of players – an overachiever who ran down the field like his hair was on fire.

Hey, the proof will be in the pudding. We will see how this goes. But I think this is a good move. He’s seems ready.

Now of course, Mike Maccagnan needs to step up and provide better special teams personnel for Boyer than he did for April.

You can see that there is a concerted effort to do just that.

For instance, today, along with officially announcing the hiring of Boyer, they signed kick returner Dri Archer, a third round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014. Archer has world class speed, having run a 4.26 forty at the 2014 Combine. Obviously things didn’t work out in Pittsburgh for Archer, but he’s still young, so he could still become something on the NFL level.

Expect to see a lot of Jets moves in the off-season related to improving special teams.

And they think that Boyer can do that from a coaching standpoint.

February 3, 2016

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