Top Candidates for the Jets’ Head Coaching Job

New York is at a crossroads, with questions lingering about Aaron Rodgers’s future and the team’s next GM. Plus, Matt Eberflus’s status in Chicago and more in Albert Breer’s mailbag.

Vrabel has been among the names floated as a potential candidate for the New York job. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

We’re headed for Week 12. You have lots of questions. I have your answers. Let’s go …

From STΞVΞ (@RacingDFS): Jets are not (imo) going first-time head coach again. What’s the list of retreads most likely to accept the job? I don’t think Vrabel is coming, so besides him. Is Steve Spagnuolo going to be available?

Mike Vrabel makes the most sense to me, mostly because he won’t stand down to an owner, and that’s exactly what the New York Jets need. The problem, of course, is what you alluded to, which is that most coaches like that aren’t going to want to work for owner Woody Johnson.

I actually think Aaron Glenn, as a former Jet, could fit that bill, even though he doesn’t have head coaching experience. Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores might make some sense, too, as someone from the New York area. Washington Commanders coach Kliff Kingsbury is another option, and a guy that the Jets have kicked tires on in the past.

Again, the key with all of those candidates is they’d have the stomach to push back on Johnson and the crew of nonfootball people he has around him.

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From anothertypo (@whyareweallhere): A-Rod has to return, right? This can’t be how it ends for him.

Typo, I don’t know where Aaron Rodgers is at with all of this now. But over the summer, I did ask him if he’d walk away if the Jets won the Super Bowl.

“I would have to see how I feel,” he responded. “My first goal is to be healthy and to play all 17 regular season games and then make a run. I’d have to think about that. A lot of guys don’t answer questions seriously when it comes to that stuff. Of course, that would be an amazing way to go out. I’m not saying that would be my one and done. A lot happens during the year with the love of the game, the relationships form, the way the team’s playing. I wanted to play two great seasons healthy with the team.

“If that happened, that would be a conversation to be had, but this team is set up to be good for a while. It would be fun to be a part of that if I can still play and be healthy."

So, just parsing words, you see he really wanted to play “two great seasons” with the Jets. But some of that came with the qualifier that the “team is set up to be good for a while.” Are they now? We don’t know who their coach will be. We don’t know who their general manager will be. Yes, there’s young talent to build around—Garrett Wilson, Olu Fashanu, Jermaine Johnson, Quinnen Williams, Quincy Williams, Sauce Gardner, et al. Maybe it’s enough to entice Rodgers, even with the uncertainty that comes with a regime change.

That, of course, is assuming the new coach and GM would want Rodgers back, something that I think would be tied to how those guys saw the roster’s viability in 2025, and 2025 alone. And if the Jets were looking for a clean break, then the question would be if Rodgers has the appetite for a Brett Favre–style post-Jets encore to the encore. I think he might, for two reasons—one being that he may not want to go out like this, and the other that he’s gained a great appreciation for playing over the past year. 

Rodgers has struggled in his return to the Jets, leading the team to a 3–8 record. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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From thedamnjets (@thegoddamnJets_): When will the suffering end for Jets fans?

Damn Jets, this is trending into Washington territory, where the answer may not be satisfying to hear because it’s hard for anyone to control.

Which is … Whenever the owner sells the team.

Now, you could say that all Johnson has to do is get his hires right, and there’s some merit to that. But then, those hires have to be strong enough to overcome the forces in the organization that have created roadblocks for every coach and GM that came before them. Those roadblocks are best summed up as a kind of organizational chaos created by an owner surrounded by yes men (who get involved in football matters but don’t have a football background), who are acutely sensitive to what’s said on social media.

It’s worn out a lot of good football people to have to answer to this sort of committee of public perception—and that’ll continue to happen as long as things are set up that way. Do you think, for example, that it’s a coincidence that the firing of Joe Douglas happened less than a week after season ticket renewals were due? I generally wouldn’t.

Of course, someone will take those jobs. But unless the owner changes his ways, and drastically, the Jets will be trying to build, and win, with problems that the best organizations don’t have. So good luck to them.

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From Deftbriar (@deftbriar): Will Cleveland assistant GM Catherine Raîche get any real consideration for GM openings this cycle? I find it interesting which NFL team will be first to hire a female GM …

I like Catherine Raîche a lot. Some people get thrust into these positions as a symbol of where a team stands on these things. That’s not Raîche, who’s worked her way up—spending five seasons in CFL front offices, and serving an apprenticeship in the Arena League, before going to Philly and working for Andrew Berry. She then succeeded Berry as the Philadelphia Eagles VP of football operations, before Berry brought her to Cleveland to replace Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

That ascension through a highly respected organization in Philly, and having a whip-smart GM bring her over to Cleveland, tells you what you need to know.

Whether she’s ready will be a matter of opinion, since he’s still in her mid-30s and is just in her sixth season working for NFL teams. So, I’m not sure that it will happen this year or next. But I would say that she’d be my front-runner to become the NFL’s first female general manager (with Denver’s Kelly Kleine in that mix, too).

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From dewars&water (@dewars_water): How are the Browns going to recover from the Watson disaster?

Dewars, I assume you know the impediments from here. The Cleveland Browns owe Deshaun Watson $46 million in 2025 and $46 million in ’26—and every dime is fully guaranteed. There’s $172.77 million in cap charges left to account for, which means they’ve only reckoned with 24.9% of the contract’s $230 million against the cap, despite being 60% of the way through the contract.

It’s a mess.

For now, they’re in a holding pattern. Watson has to get healthy before they do anything with him. And even then there won’t be many options, since that contract is pretty much untradeable. I think he’s back on the roster in 2025, but without so many things set up specifically to get him right. My guess is he has real competition for the job next year, maybe with a rookie quarterback.

I think the Browns are done tiptoeing around their quarterback situation. One reason why Joe Flacco was out and Jameis Winston came in as Watson’s backup was that Cleveland wanted to give Watson clarity that he was their guy going forward. I’d imagine those sorts of concessions won’t be made anymore.

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Eberflus's future in Chicago has been called into question as the team continues to struggle. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

From Baba (@BlackSheepBears): Flus looks gone. Does Poles get fired, too?

Baba, I think everything will be under evaluation.

First, I don’t agree that it’s over for Matt Eberflus, yet. There’s still a path to the playoffs in the NFC for the Chicago Bears. And if Chicago makes it, and Thomas Brown gets Caleb Williams right, there would be an argument for staying the course, for the sake of the young quarterback, and a really good defense.

If it doesn’t, this becomes less predictable. Kevin Warren arrived as team president in 2023 amid speculation that he’d want to bring in his own people. When the Bears were 3–8 a year ago, that started to seem inevitable. Then, Eberflus rallied the team to a 4–2 finish, the defense tightened up, young players came along, and Warren and ownership stayed the course. So it’s not like they haven’t been down this road already.

Would Ryan Poles get another shot with a new head coach? I think he has a good relationship with Warren, but I’d imagine that’ll come down to what the Bears are shooting for in their next coach. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, for example, will be very picky in the jobs he’d entertain. Former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel was already in a place where ownership and front-office politics got in the way, so I’d guess he’d want things set up a certain way, too.

So, how does Warren value the job Poles has done (and I do think he’s done a good job)? That’ll be the question, as I see it.

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From darrell samels Jr (@JrSamels): Who do you think becomes the coach of the Saints if you had to guess?

Darrell, this is another one that depends on what’s going on above the coach.

Mickey Loomis, now in his 23rd season as general manager, didn’t want to fire Dennis Allen midseason. Ownership, led by Gayle Benson, was acutely aware of growing apathy in the fan base and went through with it anyway. So that was the backdrop as New Orleans worked to dig its season out of the 2–7 ditch it was in. Now, at 4–7, the Saints are only two games out of first place.

If they get to, say, nine wins, the idea of going forward with Darren Rizzi as head coach might have legs. If the roster shows well the rest of the year, and they don’t quite make it there, then perhaps Loomis would be on the trigger for the coaching search. My guess is that Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn would be a prime target (Loomis loved Dan Campbell as a prospective head coach when he had him in-house, and former Saints assistant, Glenn, has many of the same strengths as Campbell).

If the team backslides after its bye, then I think the doors probably swing open wider, and I would guess that ownership may take more command of the search, and look for someone from outside the Loomis–Sean Payton family to lead the team.

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From Arthur Jaramillo (@ArtC_Jaramillo): Does Cincinnati move on from Zac Taylor or can staff changes be enough to save his job?

Arthur, I don’t think the Cincinnati Bengals are moving on from Taylor (look at the team’s history, and what Taylor’s accomplished there), and I actually don’t think coaching is the issue, either.

The offense, for one, is just fine. Joe Burrow’s played really well. The line has stabilized. Ja’Marr Chase is a star. Receiver depth is fine, especially when Tee Higgins is out there. Yes, they could use another running back. But that side of the ball is plenty good enough to go trophy-chasing.

The problem has been the defense. Defensive tackle, with D.J. Reader gone, is an issue. Sam Hubbard’s age and mileage is showing. The corners that the Bengals drafted have not really delivered. And last year, at safety, they missed the communication piece in losing Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell. So, they brought Bell back this year, and he’s shown that he’s clearly hit the back nine of his career. All of which is why Cincinnati now has to win shootouts.

As I see it, after paying Chase (which they should’ve done already), the Bengals really need to invest in their defense. Part of this, too, is investing back into the scouting department, which has done a good job for a long time but has always been short-handed, and modernizing how they approach player acquisition. Having Burrow creates a massive opportunity for the franchise. They need to take advantage of it.

Burrow has had a prolific season despite the Bengals' struggles. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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From Ronnie (@Tray4o): Will this next offseason be the most head coaching openings the NFL has had?

No, I don’t think so. I believe the 10 openings in 2021 were an all-time high. I think this year lands right around seven, which is a pretty average number.

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From jake (@SourdoughSpam): Not asking if Kyle Shanahan is on the hot seat, but any insight of the general vibe of the higher ups in Santa Clara right now?

Jake, they’re pretty smart there. They knew coming into this year that the window was closing on the current core and that some retooling was coming. Maybe that arrived a little earlier than expected—and I say that as someone who believes this group of players still has a run in it in January if they’re relatively healthy.

Obviously, some important decisions are coming, one being how much to pay Brock Purdy. I’d say the San Francisco 49ers are pretty comfortable having Shanahan lead the transition from one era to the next and with his finger on the trigger for big calls such as the Purdy one.

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From KTA (@keiteay): How would you rank the likelihood of these scenarios for the Jaguars:

1) They fire both Pederson and Baalke;

2) They fire Pederson but not Baalke;

3) They run it back with Pederson and Baalke.

I’d put it in the same order you have it.

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From erickleinphd (@DrEricKlein): Albert, I always enjoy your annual article in January on names to watch as future GMs. As the season has progressed, are there any particularly hot names to watch? And are there any potential GM-head coach pairings we should have on our radar?

Erick, I love this idea. And I’ll have to give this a little more thought. But some fun ideas you might not think of—maybe pairing Johnson and Ray Agnew, Glenn and Lance Newmark, John Spytek and Jesse Minter or Vrabel and Mike Borgonzi—do come to mind. I’ll dig some more into that down the line, for sure.

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