The New York Jets have not been one of the more pleasant franchises in the National Football League this season. They have seen many players struggle, many players miss time due to injury, and have lost many players due to trade demands or releases. New York also lost a few players in free agency that are now finding their own on other franchises.
At the top of all these issues is head coach Adam Gase, who bottles up the bulk of the Jets’ blame for their brutal 0-5 and counting start. There has been discussion of Gase being relieved of play-calling duties but those were refuted last week after Gase said that the organization considered it and elected to continue the status quo. The question has been raised whether the Jets should fire Gase, but at this point, it is more of a question of when not if.
There are several approaches an organization can take when looking for a head coach. Some teams will look internally at young assistants and specialty coaches. There are other franchises that will look to the college ranks to find their future play-caller. The most common route that is taken through is when an organization will pull out an offensive coach or an assistant coach from another great team.
The route that the Jets would be wise to go with is the latter, that of an offensive coach or assistant from another franchise. There are several names that the Jets would be wise to consider. Below are three offensive coordinators that the Jets should consider for their, hopefully soon, open head coaching vacancy.
Eric Bieniemy, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs offense has been one of the best in recent memory over the last few seasons and it is no accident. Since being promoted to offensive coordinator for Andy Ried’s offense in 2018, Bieniemy has coached the Chiefs to some impressive stats. In 2018, the Chiefs led the NFL in yards per game and points scored. They also score the third-most points in NFL history with 565. Bieniemy’s quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, threw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns, joining only Peyton Manning to achieve this lofty milestone.
The following season, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, again under Bieniemy. He is a former NFL running back, playing for the Chargers, Bengals, and Eagles over the course of nine seasons. Bieniemy also was a running back coach at the college he played for, Colorado, from 2001-2002. Bieniemy then transferred and held the same role at UCLA for the 2003-2005 seasons. He then earned his first NFL job in 2006 with the Minnesota Vikings as the running backs coach. In 2010, he also was added as the assistant head coach for the Vikings. In 2011 Bieniemy returned to Colorado to become their offensive coordinator for two seasons before joining the Chiefs in 2013, where he was the running backs coach. Bieniemy is 51-years-old and will be highly sought after as a head coach in the offseason.
Greg Roman, Baltimore Ravens
Along with the Chiefs, the Ravens have been at the top of the NFL over the last few seasons. One of the men behind that is a coach that started his NFL coaching career at the young age of 23 years old. Now 48, Roman is no stranger to the NFL, as he has been a coach in the NFL since 1995 with a couple of breaks. Roman has been with Ravens head coach John Harbaugh for several years as an assistant, dating back to 2009. With the Ravens going through a remodel prior to the 2018 season, Roman was tasked with creating a new style offense centered around MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. Roman was promoted to offensive coach in 2019 and the rest is history.
Through his first 12 games as offensive coordinator, the Ravens offense averaged 33.8 points per game, best in the NFL. Roman started off as an offensive line assistant for the Carolina Panthers in 1995 and held that position through 2001. He then moved on to the Houston Texans as the tight ends and quarterbacks coach from 2002-2005. The Ravens then hired Roman in 2006 as the offensive line assistant but was only there for two seasons.
Roman then became a high-school offensive coordinator in 2008 before switching to the tight ends and offensive tackles coach in Stamford for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Roman worked back into the NFL with Harbaugh in 2011, coaching Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco as the offensive coordinator through the 2014 season. In 2015, Rex Ryan hired Roman to be the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills but was quickly cut in mid-2016. The Ravens then hired Roman in 2017 with John Harbaugh and the rest is history.
Arthur Smith, Tennessee Titans
One of the sneaky good teams in the NFL the last couple of seasons is the Titans. Ryan Tannehill has had a resurgence with the Titans. However, the young emerging star coach, smith, deserves a lot of credit for Tannehill’s success. Smith started his coaching career in 2006 as a 24 year old in North Carolina as a graduate assistant. Smith then quickly moved into the NFL in 2007 as a defensive quality assistant for Washington. He held that position until the end of 2008. In 2010, he held the position of the defensive intern and administrative assistant at Ole Miss. The 2011 season was the year he broke into the Titans system and never looked back.
From 2011 until 2018, Arthur held the positions of tight ends coach, defensive quality control coach, offensive quality control coach, and offensive line coach. In 2019, he was promoted to offensive coordinator following Matt Lafleur’s departure to the Green Bay. Smith led the Titans offense with the power of A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, and Tannehill, to the AFC title game last season. Before that game, Smith and the Titans knocked out the top-seeded Ravens in the AFC divisional round, 28-12. Smith was instrumental in the Titans’ victory and made a great name for himself at that point. Just 38 years old, Smith would be one of the youngest coaches in the league.
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