Ah Jets fans, here we are again: Time to hit “reset.”
I see three possible approaches for Johnson and the Jets:
In any case, Mangini will go.
GM Mike Tannenbaum is probably on the way out as well.
Here’s why: When he first took over the team, owner Woody Johnson consulted with Bill Parcells (after failing to convince Parcells to stick around) about how to proceed; when the Herm Edwards experiment failed, Johnson decided to try to turn the Jets into Patriots South — he lifted Mangini from the Patriots hoping to have gotten Belichick Jr. Tannenbaum, an old Parcells disciple, was hoped to be a Scott Pioli-type.
So much for that notion.
My guess is that Johnson tries to follow league best practices again, most likely following the Dolphins model. So look for Johnson to bring in a league veteran to play Bill Parcells’ Dolphins role: Marty Schottenheimer (rumored to be angling for that role with the Chiefs), Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, or even Parcells himself.
Cowher might take the position and then install himself as coach/GM (though he reportedly does not want to coach in 2009). This is the Jets’ second scenario.
The third scenario involves possibly keeping Tannenbaum in place but following another league best practice: The three hot coaches this season (Smith in Atlanta, Sparano in Miami and Harbaugh in Baltimore) were all first-time head coaches; my recollection is that they were not even coordinators before getting promoted (I believe the same is true of highly-regarded 49ers coach Mike Singletary).
So the third scenario involves Tannenbaum pledging to find the next great unknown coach. My dark horse candidate here: Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff. Seriously.
December 29th, 2008
As much as I generally do not take part in schadenfrude, I look forward to Mangini trying to find another co-ordinating job in the NFL after he stabbed his old boss in the back in New England. Whether or not what Mangini did was the right or wrong thing morally, how many head coaches will give a second chance to a guy who already showed he’s willing to spill state secrets when it benefits him?