New York Jets

Jets should fire coordinators heading into offseason

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:56 p.m. ET

Fansided, Michael Pallas/FanSided via The Jet Press

It’s Black Monday but the New York Jets have decided to keep head coach Todd Bowles. Some may be clamoring for the Jets to have had fired him, but sometimes the staff is the issue.

Coordinators and position coaches spend more time with the players during practice than head coaches do. They have position meetings and defensive and offensive meetings. They install the game plan with the players, and they generally call the plays on game day. It’s also much the same when it comes to the New York Jets.

So there’s no doubt the Jets should fire offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers due to their lack of preparation and execution with their responsibilities. Head coach Todd Bowles did lead this team to a 10-6 record in 2015, and even though it fell apart in 2016 you can point to a lot of problems beyond Bowles.

The tight ends have had a total of 52 targets in the two seasons under Gailey. That’s a function of them not even being in the game plan. Their offense also couldn’t sustain drives or get into the end zone. Over his two seasons, they had a total of 65 touchdowns, which ranked 24th in the NFL, and they had 512 first downs which ranked 28th in the NFL.

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The defense fared a little better under Rodgers. They had the eighth-fewest yards allowed. However, they allowed the 16th most points and had the 11th fewest turnovers. They built this team to play a 3-4 base defense and inexplicably changed it to a 4-3.

Rodgers also employed a game plan that got one of his players hurt. They used a smaller Darron Lee at inside linebacker when he should’ve been playing outside. Battling guards down in and down out, when he should’ve been going up against smaller tackles, got Lee hurt.

There are enough replacements coming with the head coaches that will be fired. Bowles should get a second chance to hire a staff. However, if it doesn’t work out this time, it could lead to his pink slip.

Either way, these two coordinators must be replaced with better candidates that will come in and devise strategies using the strengths of this team. The kind of coordinators that can push the envelope and support Bowles in turning this team around for the better.