The Cringe worthy relationship between Todd Bowles and the New York Jets has been finally put to an end today. The former coordinator of the year was never able to bring the Jets to the promised land or even the playoffs. Bowles came in to New York from Arizona the most in demand coaching candidates. He had a lot of potential and a few solid years But ultimately fell short when it mattered most. Bowles lack of leadership as well as his inability to find anyone who could handle the offense was ultimately his down fall. Now it is time for both parties to move on, but here at Grand Central Fantasy we focus on the New York teams. So let’s look at the top potential candidates to replace our old friend Todd.
Mike McCarthy: There is no way around it, McCarthy got a raw deal in Green Bay. After over a decade of coaching the team and leading them to a Super Bowl victory he was let go abruptly mid season. Many people are calling for McCarthy to come t9 the big apple, but I say us Jet fans should hold our horses here. An argument can be made that the Packers won in spite of McCarthy. Rodgers was never a big fan of his and the two constantly butt heads behind the scenes. McCarthy brings a stabilizing presence to any locker room, but the fact remains, he only won one super bowl with arguably the most talented player in a generation? That raises some concerns for me. But the Jets ownership may not be as concerned and will look at McCarthys experience with Rodgers as an asset in dealing with Sam Darnold. Barring any major surprises I think McCarthy will be pursued aggressively by New York.
Likelihood McCarthy is The Jets next HC: 65%
Jim Harbaugh: The rumors of Harbaugh’s return to the NFL have started basically since his first year in Michigan. Harbaugh has not even come close to delivering on bringing Michigan back to prominence. And no more so than this year when they got steamrolled by Ohio State and had their playoff hopes dashed in a blow out loss to their arch rival. Harbaugh worked wonders at Stanford and in the San Francisco. Building a defensive juggernaut and crafting an offense that was almost impossible to stop,until they got to the Super Bowl. There are reports that The Jets will aggressively pursue Harbaugh this off season, but Harbaugh has reiterated that he is staying focused on next year with Michigan. This would be a slamdunk yes from Jet fans if we knew exactly which horrible all week we’re getting. Would we be getting the Harbaugh that build an all-time San Francisco and lead the team to their first Super Bowl birth in decades? Or would we be getting the Harbaugh that has been running his offense at Michigan like the 1932 Baltimore Colts? I’ve always been a Harbaugh fan but this is way too important to take a risk.
Likelihood Harbaugh is the next HC: 30%
Vic Fangio: At this present moment in insider circles there is no name really hotter than Fangio’s. The long time defensive coordinator has built or helped build incredible defenses in San Francisco and now Chicago. Fangio has paid his dues and New York loves defensive minded head coaches. An argument can be made that the best teams in jet history have been run by a defensive minded coach. But the NFL is now extremely offensive minded and with the breakout years we have seen from Matt Nagy and Sean Mcvay they will most likely be on the lookout for the latest offensive genius. Fangio is also 60 years old, and a rookie 60 year old coach is hard to sell to your young franchise cornerstones. I personally love Fangio especially if they can find a guy like Freddie Kitchens to handle the offense, but I doubt we see Fangio in New York.
Likelihood Fangio is the next HC: 35%
Bruce Arians: Arians is my personal dream candidate. The guy is retired and has said he would only come out of retirement to coach Baker Mayfield in Cleveland, but I don’t buy that for a minute. I think Arians will come out of retirement for the highest bidder and the best young quarterback. And since the report came out that Arians would come out of retirement, Darnold has shown that he is basically the new Brett Favre in the making. Arians will recognize this and consider The Jets for his next attempt to grab that Lombardi trophy. Arians’ offense has been legendary over the years and he single handedly brought Carson Palmer’s career back to life. Arians being the next head coach would instantly put The Jets into the wild card hunt in my opinion. It would be tough, but I would love to see it.
Likelihood Arians is the next HC: 45%
Josh McDaniels: This one will make a lot of Jet fans sick, but the New England offensive coordinator is rumored to be done waiting around for Belichick to retire and is ready to take on his own team again. McDaniels burned the Colts last season and rumors swirled that it was because he would be taking over the Patriots job very soon. But will he? I don’t see Belichick leaving for at least another 5 years. And the other big complaint was McDaniels did not want to move his kids out of the New England area. If he was in New York he wouldn’t have to. The acquisition of McDaniels would be a boon for the Jets front office. To steal away their arch rivals top offensive mind and have him run what will most likely be the successor to the New England dynasty. Darnold and McDaniels could also be a perfect fit. There are a lot of ifs here, but if the Jets went in this direction it could be very interesting.
Likelihood McDaniels is the next HC: 40%