New York Jets Head-Coaching Search Should Begin with Former NFL Star

The New York Jets will be shopping for a head coach soon and their search should start with a coach that will be highly pursued this offseason.

Aug 5, 2024; Cleveland Browns advisor Mike Vrabel works with cornerback Myles Harden (26) during practice at the Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The New York Jets are going to have to start a head-coaching search soon. At this point, they don’t have any choice.

Jeff Ulbrich isn’t getting the job. The interim coach has won just one game since he replaced Robert Saleh. If anything, things have gotten worse.

New York enters its bye week with a chance to jump-start the research process that will surely be led by owner Woody Johnson.

Since Johnson took over as owner, the list of head coaches is a long one. The best was probably Rex Ryan, who has publicly said he would listen if the Jets wanted to re-hire him.

That seems a pipe dream, even if that’s something Johnson and Ryan would both entertain.

The Jets have been in the first-time head coach pool for much of the last 30 years. Adam Gase was the head coach in Miami before he took over the Jets in 2019 and he won nine games in two years.

Before that, Bill Parcells was the last coach with previous experience when he took over in 1997.

Perhaps it’s time for the Jets to go the experienced route this time around?

Recently, Sports Illustrated published an exhaustive list of potential head-coaching candidates and rising stars in the profession. It included the 27 coaches most likely to get head-coaching jobs in the upcoming hiring cycle.

Obviously, Bill Belichick isn’t walking through the door at Florham Park. His history with Johnson and the franchise won’t allow it. He put Johnson on blast after Saleh was fired in October.

So, who’s the next experienced choice? It’s probably Mike Vrabel, who is currently a personnel consultant with Cleveland.

It just so happens that Vrabel has a solid Belichick connection. 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 as an assistant, 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.

SI expects Vrabel to be a hot name based on his success and based on something the Jets could surely use right now.

“Vrabel is a strong presence and would be a valuable addition, especially for a franchise struggling to garner an identity,” per the article.

An identity would do the Jets a lot of good right now.