Jets ‘Put Out Their Feelers’ on Top Candidate’s Interest in Coaching Job

The New York Jets are looking for a general manager and a head coach and one report has them already reaching out to gauge a leading candidate’s interest.

Aug 4, 2024; Cleveland Browns advisor Mike Vrabel during practice at the Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The New York Jets have already interviewed two candidates for their open general manager position. Head-coaching interviews haven’t started yet.

But it doesn’t mean the Jets are laying the groundwork.

Per SNY’s Connor Hughes, New York has reportedly “put out their feelers to gauge interest” in the job from one of the leading candidates in the hiring cycle, former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

The report came the same day that the Jets announced they had formally interviewed Vrabel’s former boss, Jon Robinson, for the general manager job.

Right now, Vrabel currently serves as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns. So, it’s not clear if New York can formally interview him yet.

The Jets can talk with candidates like Robinson and former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff because neither is currently working with an NFL team.

Coaches and team personnel that are working with NFL teams cannot be interviewed until two days after the end of the regular season.

Vrabel will be one of the most pursued head-coaching candidates once the season ends, along with both Detroit Lions coordinators — offensive boss Ben Johnson and defensive boss Aaron Glenn.

He is also one of the most experienced candidates on the coaching carousel, as well.

Vrabel has a solid connection to Bill Belichick, who reportedly has his people contact the Jets about his potential interest in the job. He played on three of Belichick’s Super Bowl teams in New England from 2001-08 and is a member of the team’s Hall of Fame.

He never coached for Belichick, but he worked his way through the ranks as an Ohio State assistant, followed by a four-year stretch with Houston that included a one-year run as the Texans’ defensive coordinator.

That led to the head-coaching job at Tennessee, where he went 54-45 in six seasons and led the Titans to three playoff berths, including a trip to the AFC title game.

He’s looking better and better these days, as the Titans have tanked since he was let go after the 2023 season when they went 6-11.

Vrabel is knowing for a hard-nosed coaching style, building respect in the locker room and winning — all things that the New York Jets could use after owner Woody Johnson fired both general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh earlier this season.