Retread Head Coach Would Be an Ideal Hire for NY Jets

After firing their head coach and general manager following a disastrous 4-12 season, the New York Jets are looking to rebrand themselves and start fresh—but that does not mean they should hire a head coach who is starting with as clean of a slate as they are.

If the Jets want to get their rebuild back on track and back into the competitive realm of the NFL as quickly as possible, hiring a head coach with prior experience on the job is a must. 

These "retread" coaches are never as exciting or as popular as the hot coordinator or college coach. After all, just about all of them have been fired at some point—but how many coaches, even the great ones, can endure an entire career in the NFL without getting the pink slip somewhere down the line?

Hiring coaches is not unlike drafting college prospects or signing foreign free agents. As much research as there is done in the hiring process, an owner/general manager never knows how this person will respond in a new position with a new organization, coaching an entirely different set of players. 

Coach	Previous Position	Year Hired	Team	Result
Steve Spagnuolo	DC	2009	St. Louis Rams	Fired after 2011 season
Josh McDaniels	OC	2009	Denver Broncos	Fired in 2010 season
Raheem Morris	DC	2009	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Fired after 2011 season
Todd Haley	DC	2009	Kansas City Chiefs	Fired in 2011 season
Rex Ryan	DC	2009	New York Jets	Fired after 2014 season
Jim Schwartz	DC	2009	Detroit Lions	Fired after 2013 season
Jim Caldwell	QB coach	2009	Indianapolis Colts	Fired after 2011 season
Ron Rivera	DC	2011	Carolina Panthers	Still Head Coach
Mike McCoy	OC	2013	San Diego Chargers	Still Head Coach
Dennis Allen	DC	2012	Oakland Raiders	Fired in 2014 season

As a result, plenty of promoted coordinators fail—at a much higher rate than one would expect. Rex Ryan was the last remaining member of the 2009 class of head coach hires. 

In fact, just two coordinators hired since 2009—Ron Rivera and Mike McCoy—still have their jobs. 

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While most of the coordinators have struggles, retreads have flourished lately and are becoming more popular hires as a result. Last year's Super Bowl featured two recycled head coaches—John Fox and Pete Carroll. In 2011, retread Tom Coughlin won his second Super Bowl with the New York Giants. 

Meanwhile, Andy Reid has brought the Kansas City Chiefs back to respectability. In his first year wearing the "retread" badge, Jim Caldwell had the Detroit Lions a drive away from advancing into the divisional round this year. 

This is not to say coordinators and big-name college coaches are useless as head coaching candidates—the Harbaugh brothers are proof that either model can be successful—but based on recent history, it is much easier to swing and miss on a first-time head coach than on another who has been through the ups and downs on the job already. 

In any other job, a candidate with prior experience in a role would make that candidate superior to an unproven candidate, all other variables equal. Why should coaching be any different?

You never know when the next great coach is waiting to be unearthed; but for every coach who goes on to greatness upon his first hire, countless follow who flame out and set their respective franchises back even further. 

Plus, while every team is looking for the next John Harbaugh or Mike Tomlin, it has a much better chance of finding a coach who has followed Bill Belichick's path to glory as a coach who did not see true success until given a second chance. Hot coordinators and college coaches rise up every year, but only a few quality coaches hang around the NFL long enough to get second and third swings at the job.

Yes, unproven head coaches have more room to grow into the position than their retread counterparts, but they also have much more room to make colossal mistakes. One of the great advantages to hiring experienced coaches is that they can learn from the mistakes they made in their last job as they too can develop as a head coach without going through the same growing pains. 

Rex Ryan put in quality work for the Jets as head coach, but after such a drama-filled six seasons at the helm, they are not an organization that is primed to deal with the ups and downs that come along with a rookie head coach. 

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The Jets are starved for stability and consistency—an environment a recycled head coach would fit like a glove.

Mentioning Gary Kubiak's name would make plenty of fans groan, as the last image they have of him as a head coach is leading a 2-14 Houston Texans team. However, an offensive guru who has come within one game of a championship berth, Kubiak is a well-respected, experienced coach who would give the Jets the image shift they are looking for. 

Kubiak is so well-respected that his former Houstonian players recommended him for his current position as Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator. 

The Jets brass has already recognized the team's need for an experienced coach walking the sidelines. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jets will have to wait until the Ravens are eliminated from the playoffs to interview Kubiak. 

The NFL as a whole is beginning to recognize the hidden advantages of hiring a known name. The list of recycled candidates is growing by the day. SI.com's Chris Burke mentions Mike Shanahan, Doug Marrone, Jack Del Rio, Josh McDaniels, Hue Jackson, Mike Munchak and Rex Ryan as other possible retread candidates. 

Hiring a retread coach is not hiring the record he last owned when he was fired. Hiring a former head coach is hiring experience that can still be improved upon, even at older ages—even in his 60s, Tom Coughlin had to adjust his style before he went on his two Super Bowl runs with the Giants. 

The Jets have made plenty of unwanted appearances on the back pages of the New York tabloids in recent years. A used head coach may be boring, but maybe a dose of boredom is exactly what the Jets need to get back to respectability for more than a couple of seasons at a time. 

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