Should Mike Westhoff Be the New York Jets' Next Head Coach?

There are thoughts swimming through minds this Monday morning, rippling the calm beneath the surface.

Eric Mangini was supposed to be the coach with the winning plan to lead the Jets to Super Bowl glory. Clearly, the football gods had other plans.

While the New York Jets prepare to pursue another head coach to lead their organization, one should hope they carefully examine who's in the house before raiding cabinets around the NFL.

Standing along the sidelines through the last few coaching regimes has been Mike Westhoff, the coordinator of one of the NFL’s best special teams units. But as goes pro football, everyone forgets about the special teams.

Despite planning to sit the 2008 season to recover from offseason surgery, Westhoff's loyalty and dedication to the New York Jets brought him back in 2008 when it was clear that newly-hired coordinator Kevin O’Dea was not going to get the job done.

In these dark times ahead, Westhoff’s familiar face would be a glimmer of hope for this organization.

Why doesn’t he deserve a shot as this team’s head coach?

Is it because he’s just a special teams coach? Let's hope not. He’s more than just a special teams coach. He’s the definitive special teams coach.

How many kick returners have the Jets been through since 2001? Chad Morton? Jonathan Carter? Justin Miller?

Players who play special teams typically travel through a revolving door. The men whose job is to block are often released, never to be seen in the NFL again. Players in the units are interchangeable.

Yet, Westhoff has provided the Jets with quality results every year.

Hopefully you’re not busy eyeballing another coordinator from another team. Let's really hope not.

Do Jets' fans want Steve Spagnuolo to coach the team?

He would be a 4-3 defensive coach for a team with 3-4 personnel. That decision would set Gang Green back another three years while general manager Mike Tannenbaum goes out to acquire the proper personnel.

Haven’t the Jets played the other coordinator game enough already? Fans have seen coaches who were in over their heads when they came to a new team and no clue how to execut their plans.

Let’s keep the one coordinator who knows the organization.

Not good enough? Is it because everyone is giddy to Bill Cowher out of retirement?

Never mind the fact that Cowher hasn’t officially declared any intentions to return to football, but do you really think he’d last in New York?

He had 15 years to win a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh. Do you really think New York will give him that much time?

Most importantly, Cowher would be the Brett Favre of coaches.

His love for the Steelers is evident every week on CBS. His legacy is defined by his career with Pittsburgh. Do the Jets need to borrow another team’s legend? Again?

Besides, Cowher started as a special teams coach in Cleveland.

But big names are important, right? Huge, monster coaching names will change this team’s culture, won’t they?

That’s what the Falcons thought when they brought in Mike Smith. What about the Ravens when they hired John Harbaugh?

I’m sure everyone was shivering when the Dolphins named Tony Sparano as their head coach. It must have been some kind of typo, and the Dolphins just got made.

So again, why not Westhoff?

Why not appoint a man who commands the respect of his colleagues in the NFL—whose name alone can go a long way in securing the aide of some of the NFL’s best coordinators?

He expected the job to be his when it was given to Eric Mangini in 2006. Instead of throwing a fit and leaving the team, he stayed on board and gave the Jets the only legitimate spark they’ve consistently had—the threat of the game-changing kick return.

He’s a football coach for a football team. There are no cute schemes and no on-camera mind games to speak of with Westhoff. His players respond to him, and they believe in his system.

He has over 20 years of experience in the league doing what he knows works and producing results.

Don’t the Jets deserve that kind of coach? Doesn’t Westhoff deserve the opportunity?

Why not give him an entire football team?

If this team is willing to squander away years on an inexperienced defensive coordinator from up north, then why not give a chance to an experienced coordinator who’s regarded as the best in the business?