Pressure or Excitement? Former Head Coach Walks Through What Jets Are Feeling Ahead of NFL Draft

Former NFL and college head coach Jim Mora explains what members of the New York Jets are feeling and how they are preparing ahead of the NFL draft

For months, the surplus of draft capital at the Jets' disposal has been a topic of conversation when assessing New York's future.

Starting on Thursday, when New York is on the clock with the No. 2 overall pick, it'll be time for general manager Joe Douglas and the entire organization to make the most of their abundance of picks. 

Sounds like a lot of pressure, right? 

Douglas, new head coach Robert Saleh and all parties involved can either take a huge step in the right direction over the next few days—if they get these picks right—or stay put in the league's cellar, failing to utilize opportunities to bolster this roster.

Even with the weight attached to a decade-long postseason drought, coming off a two-win season, one former head coach doesn't think New York is feeling any pressure in the moments leading up to the draft.

"I don't think that they're nervous, I don't think they're feeling pressure, I think they're feeling excitement," Jim Mora told Jets Country. "They're excited about the opportunities that they have, they want to make sure they get it right."

Mora has been in the position the Jets are in before. He took over as the head coach of the Falcons in 2004 after Atlanta had a 5-11 record the previous year, looking to turn their franchise around.

Sure, this is a different situation, but Mora understands what needs to go on behind the scenes for this franchise to start clicking.

"When it comes time to make that pick, it needs to be an organizational pick," Mora explained. "It needs to be a pick that everybody in the organization stands up and is fired up that we got our guy. And it has to be we got our guy, not the scouts saying 'well, they got their guy' or the coach going 'well the scouts got their guy.' It has to be no, the New York Jets, we got our guy. And that's how a player succeeds. He doesn't succeed unless there's a plan for success and the organizations on board with taking him. Everybody's in alignment with how and why we got to this decision point to take this guy and now he's in New York Jet and we're fired up to help them succeed."

As for the involvement of new head coach Robert Saleh, Mora said his role is "critically important." It has been in the months leading up to the draft, and it will be on Thursday night.

"The head coach is intimately involved, I mean he's all the way involved," Mora said. "A GM is not going to make a pick unless a head coach is right there with him in alignment and it doesn't mean they're gonna agree on every decision. They're not. They're going to see things different way, they don't have to agree, but they do have to be in alignment as to why we're taking this player.

"I don't think that the Jets will make a pick that he doesn't agree with with all of his heart."

MORE:

• Draft Insider Predicts Jets Will Trade Up in First Round to Get 'Top-Rated Guard'
• Why Zach Wilson is the Right Choice For the Jets at No. 2
• Former Offensive Line Coach: Four Linemen the Jets Should Target in the NFL Draft

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