Jets Head Coach Rumors: New York Has Interest in Baylor Coach Matt Rhule

The New York Jets are interested in Baylor football head coach Matt Rhule, per Dan Graziano of ESPN:

The Jets are looking to replace former head coach Todd Bowles, who was relieved of his duties following a 24-40 stint over a four-year span. 

The 43-year-old Rhule has been at Baylor for two years. After a 1-11 campaign in 2017, the Bears improved to 7-6 and won the Texas Bowl over Vanderbilt this season.

Prior to his Baylor stint, Rhule led Temple for four years. Likewise, he turned around the program, going from 2-10 to 6-6 to 10-4 in a three-year span. They won the American Athletic Conference championship in 2016.

Rhule doesn't have any NFL coaching experience, but his quick turnarounds at his last two stops clearly haven't gone unnoticed. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network offered a ringing endorsement:

Joe Banner, who was the Cleveland Browns' former CEO and the Philadelphia Eagles' former president, gave even greater praise for Rhule, calling him his "top-rated HC candidate" on Tuesday:

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News also told Jets fans to "keep an eye out" for Rhule, and Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated also reported that Rhule has "an interest in the NFL."

It's not difficult to read the tea leaves here. Rhule looks like a future NFL head coach, and the question is almost "when and where" and not "if" at this point.

The "when" could be this offseason, and the "where" can easily be New York, which hasn't made the playoffs in eight seasons and is in dire need of a significant rebuild around 21-year-old quarterback Sam Darnold.

The issue is whether Rhule can make the jump from the college to the pros, which some have done successfully (e.g. former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson) and others have not.

That's a hard call to make, especially when we don't yet know where Rhule will coach in 2019. However, his ability to turn around Temple and Baylor is certainly noteworthy, and that skill could potentially transfer to a struggling NFL franchise.