Which Coaching Candidates Are Best Fit to Pull Jets out of Nosedive?

No glimmer of hope at the end of the season was going to save the New York Jets from the specter of Black Monday. 

The blackness of night had not yet turned into the light of the morning on the West Coast when Jets owner Woody Johnson informed both head coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik "that they will not be returning to the team in 2015."

The team will soon begin its search to fill vacancies in leadership—both on the field and in the front office. 

In many ways, the result of the latter search will greatly impact the former. Typically speaking, a new GM will be empowered to pick the head coach who will carry out the GM's vision for the team. That being said, nothing is typical with the Jets, and according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, nothing is set in stone with regard to how the job searches will pan out or in what order:

Breaking up is quick. Moving on takes time.

There are an overwhelming number of possibilities. Wisely, Johnson has called for help in the process and will be consulting former general managers Charley Casserly (Washington Redskins, Houston Texans) and Ron Wolf (Green Bay Packers) in his search for a head coach and general manager. 

Of course, this may all sound like Chinese to Jets fans, who have grown accustomed to a history of half measures. The team oscillates between firing the GM and keeping the coach and firing the coach while giving the GM another chance.

For once, it got it right in getting rid of everyone at once. Now the question is who comes next?

But at least Johnson has an idea of what he's looking for in his next head coach, as he told the media at a press conference on Monday morning. 

So basically, he wants a well-rounded coach—more well-rounded than the previous one, at least (even before svelte Rex). Inspiring the team is a specialty of Ryan's. So is defense. Offense and special teams? Not so much.

There are plenty of candidates who will be available for hire, but which ones best fit Johnson's description?

Every coach has a specialty on one side of the ball or the other—some of them specialize in special teams too. The only candidates who will have experience in all three will be the ones with head coaching experience in previous stops.

Name	Record (HC)	Credentials
Jim Harbaugh	44-19-1	Went to three straight NFC Championship games
Josh McDaniels	11-17	Patriots offense has ranked top eight in scoring each of his years as coordinator
Jim Schwartz	29-51	Took NFL's first-ever 0-16 team and turned them into playoff contender in three years
Hue Jackson	8-8	Raiders ranked in top 10 in yards in each of his two years with the team

If Johnson wants to hire a former head coach, former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh would be the "sexy" candidate—though probably a pipe-dream candidate as well, as he appears bound for Michigan, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. 

There are other former head coaches who are currently in positions as coordinators. New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson have all been head coaches at some point in their careers.

Only one of the three—Schwartz—has led a team to the playoffs. 

Would McDaniels really go down the path of Eric Mangini and become a turncoat for Bill Belichick's sworn enemy? Maybe he would if it meant an opportunity to pick a premier quarterback like Oregon's Marcus Mariota with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft (or a chance to trade up to a pick that would allow him to do so). 

But McDaniels is no lock to leave New England, where he has an established juggernaut. He will probably have his pick of jobs whenever he chooses to leave.

There's also no guarantee that the Jets will hire a former head coach. Perhaps it's not necessary to have experience managing all three phases of the game; maybe simply having that potential would be enough.

Arizona Cardinals defense	2014	NFL rank
Points/game	18.7	5
Yards/game	368.2	24
1st downs/game	18.8	2
Touchdowns/game	2	6
3rd down %	37.5	10
Red zone %	43.9	3

Besides, there are plenty of young coordinators who should be candidates for the job. In fact, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was technically once a head coach, albeit on an interim basis for three games at the end of the 2011 season with the Miami Dolphins.

His Cardinals defense has been one of the league's best in 2014 and without several key players (defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, cornerback Tyrann Mathieu). The Cardinals run a 3-4 zone-blitz scheme which would be a near-perfect fit for the personnel the Jets have already acquired. If Bowles is to make a good head coach, though, he would have to do what Ryan never did: learn to coach the offensive side of the ball.

A few other names to consider among coordinators who could take the next step in their careers: Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, and Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

Quinn has been with the Jets in the past as a defensive line coach, so perhaps Johnson would like to go with a familiar face. There's also that little factoid about him coordinating the best defense in the league two years straight and calling one of the best defensive games in Super Bowl history last year against the Broncos.

That being said, he may have some of the same problems that Ryan had on the offensive side of the ball, where he has no experience. 

In that respect, Bevell would be a strong candidate for his experience working with the offense. He had a hand in the development of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, and his 15 years of NFL experience will surely make him a candidate for several jobs this offseason.

But there's no guarantee that the Jets' next head coach will come from the NFL. 

The stigma around college coaches has faded with the recent success of Harbaugh (former Stanford head coach) and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly (former Oregon head coach). Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin and Stanford head coach David Shaw could be among the names who are interviewed to move to the professional level.

Those two would certainly bring a heavy dose of the motivational factor that Johnson wants in his next head coach.

The Jets' breakup with Ryan and Idzik is over, and in time, someone new will come along. The only way the scars of the past will ever heal, though, is if this head coach and general manager can do what no one has done for 46 years: lead the Jets to the promised land.

Follow @ErikFrenz