Mercifully, the 2024 season is almost over for the Jets.
However, the real work is just beginning.
Jets owner Woody Johnson has already been busy interviewing candidates for the team’s vacant general manager and coaching positions. He fired both Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh amid a 4-12 season and there’s one game remaining against the Dolphins this Sunday.
Many fans have questions about the upcoming offseason after what has been a nightmare season for the Jets. With that, here’s the final regular season edition of our Jets mailbag.
Who do you think will be the Jets head coach/ GM? -@BurnoGino1096
Please don’t hold me to this prediction on Jan. 2. But if I had to guess right now, it would be Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Lions senior personnel executive John Dorsey.
After playing eight seasons for the club from 1994-01, Glenn obviously has ties to the Jets. He was a two-time Pro Bowler with Gang Green and was named to its All-Time Four Decade Team in 2003.
Along with coach Dan Campbell, Glenn has been a catalyst for the Lions’ 14-2 record this season. Some might look at the Lions’ defense and wonder why Glenn would get coaching consideration. But his unit has been decimated by injuries, including to pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson (broken tibia).
As for Dorsey, hiring him would make sense if the Jets wanted someone with previous experience as a general manager. He was previously the general manager for both the Chiefs (2013-17) and Browns (2017-19). Since he left Cleveland, Dorsey worked as a consultant for the Eagles (2020) before becoming the Lions’ senior personnel executive.
Is there any way the Garrett Wilson situation can be salvaged by the new regime, given they have at least three years of control? -@Jetscap
Anything is possible, but that starts with deciding on Aaron Rodgers. The chemistry between Wilson and Rodgers has been a talking point since training camp last August following a heated exchange during practice. Rodgers downplayed the situation days after, but their relationship, at least on the field, hasn’t improved.
Wilson’s targets have diminished since acquiring Davante Adams in a trade with the Raiders on Oct. 15. Wilson has 82 targets, 56 receptions for 654 yards, and four touchdowns. During that same span, Adams has 102 targets, 61 receptions for 766 yards and six touchdowns.
The Jets could franchise tag Wilson and pick up his fifth-year option for 2026, giving them three years of control. However, I don’t know if a new regime wants to begin its tenure with an unhappy Wilson.
I’m not saying Wilson will be traded. However, as one of my favorite wrestlers, “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, used to say, “Everybody’s got a price.”
Would you currently take the seventh pick and Sauce [Gardner] or Quinnen [Williams] to try and trade up to get Shedeur [Sanders] or Cam Ward- @rommy_rome
Absolutely not. The 2025 NFL Draft is not the time to trade one of your defensive stars to get a quarterback. I love Ward, but the Jets played themselves out of that sweepstakes after defeating the Jaguars on Dec. 15.
Since the Jets will not be in range for Sanders or Ward, I would stick with Tyrod Taylor for a season, sign Steelers quarterback Justin Fields, and keep Jordan Travis, who they drafted last April. Fields will be a free agent after this season and has starting quarterback experience.
Travis is still rehabbing his way back from a devastating ankle injury he suffered at Florida State. The Jets placed him on the reserve/non-football injury list in August.
If Travis returns healthy, let the best man win between him, Taylor, and Fields, while the Jets can clean up their salary cap situation in 2025.
The Braves once fired Bobby Cox, then re-hired him a decade later and he was the guy for 20 years. Why can’t that same fate happen with the Jets with Rex Ryan?- @Mikeybee88
For those who don’t know, Ryan told ESPN New York that he expects to interview for the Jets coaching job.
These moves don’t tend to work in the NFL. Remember former Washington coach Joe Gibbs, who returned to the team 12 years after retiring.
Gibbs won three Super Bowls with Washington from 1981-92. But he had marginal success in his return to the Washington sideline after finishing with a 30-34 record from 2004-07.
Sometimes, it is best to let the past be the past. I get Jet fans have nostalgia about the good ole days from 2009-10 when the team went to the AFC Championship.
But Ryan hasn’t coached anywhere in almost a decade after he was fired by the Bills in 2016. Cox was at least in the Braves front office for five seasons (1986-90) before returning to the dugout.
Just because you had a relationship with someone and had good moments doesn’t mean you forget about the bad times and return to them. Ryan was fired for a reason, but it doesn’t hurt that Johnson will interview him for due diligence.
