The Jets have been looking for a new coach for almost two weeks. When they go to find one, nobody knows.
On Thursday, the Jets conducted a second interview with Titans’ offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. He is the second candidate they personally interviewed in New Jersey. They interviewed 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Saleh and Smith left for interviews with other teams. Both drew the attention of almost all teams looking for a coach. The Jets are getting to the point where they must decide whether they want the team to attack first for one of these in-demand candidates or wait.
“As for when we will have a new coach, this is a broad and deep search,” said Jets CEO and President, Christopher Johnson, on January 4, at the beginning of this search. “We are going to take our time, it is a process and we want to get it right. Of course, we are not the only team looking for a new coach, time is always essential, but we will do it the right way ”.
This is the tricky point where the Jets and the other teams find themselves. A search for coaching is always a balance between acting quickly to beat other teams in a candidate, but also doing a thorough search. This was complicated this year by the restrictions of COVID-19. Jets interviewed nine candidates, but all interviews were conducted virtually. Teams will not choose a coach, and vice versa, without meeting in person. But postseason team candidates cannot interview in person until their teams are eliminated from the playoffs.
This allowed the Jets to bring Saleh (whose 49ers lost the playoffs) and Smith (whose Titans were eliminated on Sunday) for a second interview this week. They didn’t feel strong enough to try to lock one of them up during their visits, but will they attack if one of them is hired by another team? Will they have the patience to wait for a personal interview if Chiefs ‘offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll advances to the Super Bowl? That would mean waiting until February 8 to meet with them. They could do another virtual interview with them during the week off before the Super Bowl, but they certainly wouldn’t hire anyone they hadn’t met in person first.
The danger of waiting so long is that any coach hired in February will have a hard time getting his team together. Most coach vacancies will be filled by then and it can be difficult to attract assistant coaches.
The first coach signing was made Thursday, when Jaguars and Urban Meyer reached an agreement. But Meyer never seemed to be a real contender anywhere other than Jacksonville. Dominoes will actually start to fall when one of the other six openings is filled.
Saleh and Smith are the two hottest names of the moment. Saleh interviewed all teams that have a vacancy, except Texans. He left the Jets on Wednesday and went to Florida for an interview with the Eagles. The NFL Network reported that he also has a second interview with the Chargers.
Smith interviewed all the teams, except the Texans, who expressed an interest in talking to him. He had a second interview with the Falcons before coming to New Jersey on Wednesday. After breaking up with the Jets on Thursday, Smith was due to fly to Florida to meet the Eagles for the first time. He will also have a second interview with Lions on Friday.
If one of the two is plucked by another team, it will be interesting to see if the Jets move on the other. This is assuming they have both at the top of the list, which can be assumed, since the two gave interviews this week before anyone else.
Or the Jets can wait to see who loses this weekend to see who they can bring in next week for an interview. Daboll, Bieniemy, Rams’ defensive coordinator, Brandon Staley, and Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn (a former Jets player), all interviewed virtually with the Jets and play in the playoffs this weekend.