How to fix the New York Jets

The New York Jets are going to be awful the rest of this season. They might eek out another victory or two with a fairly soft schedule the rest of the way, but changes are coming. Head coach Rex Ryan will be fired, and rightfully so. General manager John Idzik, after two underwhelming draft classes, will probably be shown the door as well, providing a fresh start. Come January, while the playoffs are heating up, the Jets will begin digging out from a disastrous campaign with the hiring of a new regime and the turnover of this putrid roster.

For every successful team, the brain trust is of utmost importance. New York must find a competent talent evaluator to re-route this rudderless ship, perhaps Chris Ballard of the Kansas City Chiefs or Nick Casario of the arch-rival New England Patriots. Both are the directors of player personnel for their franchises and would bring in a wealth of knowledge to the Jets on the football operations side. Idzik was hired mainly for his ability to manage the salary cap, a mistake New York can’t repeat.

Assuming Ryan is shown the door, the Jets should go after a head coach with experience. This rebuild is going to take patience and a firm hand, but also somebody who can handle the harsh glare of the New York media. Should Jim Harbaugh become available, that would be a dream scenario. Outside of Harbaugh, the Jets would be wise to look at Jack Del Rio and Gary Kubiak, two men with ample experience and a winning track record.

Glancing at the roster, the offseason will need to be busy in New York. The start of reconstruction begins with the quarterback spot, where the Jets are stuck with a mediocre veteran in Michael Vick and a turnover-prone mess in Geno Smith. Smith makes far too many errors to be a viable starter and has turned the fans sour on him. A new regime will not want to deal with the headache of defending Smith or be tied to his maturation.

While the temptation will be to find a stopgap, New York needs to grab a franchise quarterback in the draft if possible. Should Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota be available when the Jets go on the clock come April, the pick won’t be difficult to make. Winston’s off-field problems are a definite red flag, but he remains an elite talent who merits consideration.

On defense, the Jets have a talented front seven but have a horrific secondary which ranks 24th in yards allowed per pass (7.7). More than one corner is needed to fix the problem, so diving headlong into free agency and the draft would be wise. Brandon Flowers and Chris Harris Jr. are a couple of intriguing names. Flowers is more of a zone corner who brings versatility as an outside and slot corner. Harris excels in man and is the younger of the two, only 25 years old.  In the draft, New York will likely have a top-10 pick and can target P.J. Williams out of Florida State or Marcus Peters of Washington should it steer clear of quarterback.

The road back for the Jets is a long one. There are other holes on this roster, namely at receiver and the right side of the offensive line. Still, quick progress can be made with wise front-office hires, calculated signings and shrewd drafting.

About Matt Verderame

Matt Verderame, 26, is a New Yorker who went to school at the frozen tundra of SUNY Oswego. After graduating, Verderame has worked for Gannett and SB Nation among other ventures.

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