7 Possible Head Coaching Replacements If New York Jets Fire Rex Ryan
The writing is on the wall: The end of Rex Ryan's six-year tenure as the New York Jets head coach is inevitable. Sitting on a 2-10 record in a season with playoff aspirations, the Jets will almost surely move on from the boisterous head coach after the season.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jets are already keeping tabs on possible replacements.
Generally, teams will choose a candidate who is very unlike the man they replaced, which would lead the Jets to be favored to land a quiet, offensive guru as their head coach. Defensive coaches are not completely out of the question, but a team that has been starved of a consistent offense for so long may not have an appetite for more 14-10 games week in and week out.
Here are some of the top logical candidates to replace Rex Ryan in 2015.
Kyle Shanahan, Offensive Coordinator, Cleveland Browns
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Strengths: Offensive-minded, recent track record of success with young quarterbacks
Drawbacks: Unproven, has never managed a full team, young
The Jets may have had a bad experience with their last encounter with a legendary coach's offspring with Brian Schottenheimer, but that should not scare them away from Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan is largely responsible for the surprisingly effective Browns offense (especially early in the season) with Brian Hoyer under center. He also oversaw the only time in which Robert Griffin III looked like a professional quarterback in 2012.
From an X's-and-O's standpoint, Shanahan's offense falls under the Gary Kubiak tree, using a lot of zone-blocking schemes, roll-outs and play action to move an offense, a perfect recipe for easing a young quarterback into the NFL—which the Jets will have to do sooner or later.
As with all young, first-time head coaches, Shanahan is an unproven commodity. He can run an offense, but whether or not he can run an NFL team and the accessory parts of the job remain to be seen.
Todd Bowles, Defensive Coordinator, Arizona Cardinals
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Strengths: Coaching a top defense that has survived injuries, some head coach experience as an interim in 2011
Drawbacks: Defensive coach
The Jets have all but exhausted their appetite for a defensive coach after five years of Rex Ryan, but Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles should not be counted out of the job just yet.
Arizona's defenses have been among the league's best under Bowles. Despite their mounting injuries, 2014 has been no exception with their fifth-best scoring defense in the NFL. Without Bowles and his defensive acumen, the Cardinals may not be nearly as relevant as they are now.
Bowles also has some limited head coaching experience from his time as interim head coach with the Miami Dolphins following Tony Sparano's firing in 2011.
Bowles has taken the long, unpaved road to his current position as a head coach in the making. An undrafted free agent coming out of Temple, Bowles lasted eight years in the league as a safety before rising through the coaching ranks. Bowles won't be a headline-driven selection, but a well-respected football man is anything but a reckless decision.
Jim Harbaugh, Head Coach, San Francisco 49ers
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Strengths: Tremendous track record of developing quarterbacks, has never fallen short of NFC Championship Game
Drawbacks: Competition for his services, abrasive personality
Despite the San Francisco 49ers' incredible success under Jim Harbaugh's leadership, a divorce seems inevitable between the two—and the Jets have taken notice.
"Report: Raiders, Jets to will explore trade for Jim Harbaugh. http://t.co/846CfYoOiM #49ers
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) November 30, 2014"
If there is a split, there will be plenty of teams interested in Harbaugh's services, and the Jets should certainly be in the mix. Harbaugh is everything the Jets are currently missing in a head coach: an offensive mind with a proven track record of fielding both a dominant defense and a potent offense.
Even more importantly, just about every capable quarterback to cross Harbaugh's path has turned to gold. He coach up Andrew Luck to help develop him into the passer he is today before reviving Alex Smith's career from obscurity. He would later bench Smith for Colin Kaepernick, a former "project" quarterback who was a goal-line sequence away from a Lombardi Trophy.
Harbaugh also has evidence of making quick turnarounds among both college and professional programs. Under his watch, Stanford became a powerhouse in the Pac-12. Within one season, the 49ers went from irrelevancy to the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Harbaugh may have a stern personality that rubs some the wrong way. According to Ann Killion of SFGate.com in March, Harbaugh's "act" was wearing thin, and that has contributed to his apparently inevitable departure from San Francisco.
At this stage, the Jets would be willing to work with just about anyone who is capable of turning around their franchise.
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Dan Quinn, Defensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks
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Strengths: Proven defensive mind, Super Bowl winner
Drawbacks: Defensive coach
Dan Quinn falls into the same category as Todd Bowles as a rising defensive coach from an NFC West powerhouse, giving the Jets similar reasons to either bring him in or pass on him.
Taking over for Gus Bradley, hired to captain the Jacksonville Jaguars, as the Seahawks defensive coordinator, Quinn led a historically good defense through the Super Bowl, shutting down the most prolific offense in NFL history in the process.
Quinn, however, is a bit more realistic of a hire on a few levels. For one, he has a connection to John Idzik from their days with the Seattle Seahawks. A local Morristown, New Jersey, native, Quinn's ownership of a Super Bowl ring may make him a hair more attractive than his NFC West counterpart, Bowles.
Dave Toub, Special Teams Coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs
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Strengths: Tremendous track record as special teams coordinator, no bias to either side of the ball
Drawbacks: No proof of development of regular defensive or offensive players
Special teams coordinators are generally ignored when it comes to head coaching searches, a trend that should change sooner than later.
While relatively unknown compared to their offensive and defensive counterparts, special teams coaches have a unique way of bridging the gap between the two dominant sides of the ball in a way other coordinators cannot. Annually fielding a dominant defense to pair with an inept offense, Rex Ryan is a prime example of favoring one side of the ball too much.
Special teams coaches are used to working with both sides of the ball in assembling their units. They are also programmed to constantly be adapting to roster changes to fill the needs of the starting offensive and defensive groups.
After John Harbaugh, a special teams coach by trade, won a title for the Baltimore Ravens, it is rather curious as to why more special teams coaches are not considered for head coaching jobs.
Dave Toub is well known for his prime years with the Chicago Bears, as his special teams were a huge part of their Super Bowl run in 2006. Greg Gabriel of the National Football Post wrote about Toub's attention to detail, saying, "Few are as organized and pay as close attention to detail as Toub. If there is a way to out-scheme an opponent, Dave finds it...Mark my word, Dave Toub will be an excellent head coach in the NFL."
Toub may not be a hot name to excite fans, but he may be the most well-rounded candidate of the coordinator pool.
Adam Gase, Offensive Coordinator, Denver Broncos
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Strengths: Coached powerhouse offenses
Drawbacks: Possible product of Peyton Manning, very young
Ever since Mike McCoy was able to make the Denver Broncos offense somewhat productive with Tim Tebow at the helm in 2011, Broncos offensive coordinators are getting attention for head coaching gigs at a rate only surpassed by Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinators.
Current coordinator Adam Gase was getting attention early in last year's hiring season, but he was humble enough to recognize that he was not quite ready to take on such a gig, showcasing a trait that will only make him more sought after this offseason.
The Broncos have been historically productive under Gase, but there is no dodging the fact that Peyton Manning's presence leads all other factors in their success.
Gase is only 36 and would immediately become the league's youngest head coach if hired this offseason. His statistical track record as a coordinator is certainly enviable for many teams, but those expecting him to import Manning's output in production to wherever he goes should tread carefully in hiring Gase.
Brian Kelly, Head Coach, Notre Dame
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Strengths: Proven winner, develops quarterbacks, revived a top college program
Drawbacks: Unproven on the professional stage
Having risen through the coaching ranks to eventually revive the most storied program in college football, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has proven himself in just about every possible position in college football. Kelly has gone from a defensive coordinator at Grand Valley State to an offensive guru at Cincinnati before getting the Fighting Irish back into the BCS National Championship Game in 2013.
While Notre Dame may have undergone a bit of an up-and-down season in 2014, there is no doubting the fact that Kelly has this storied program in a much better place than he found it after Charlie Weis was fired.
Besides, with Notre Dame experiencing an average season by their standards (7-5), the time has never been better for Kelly to make the jump to the NFL before things get even worse at Notre Dame.
Kelly may not be a proven NFL commodity, but he has demonstrated the ability to successfully run the most publicized college program in the country—if that does not prepare him for the NFL, nothing will.
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