New York Jets Midseason Report: Coaching Staff, Front Office

There is plenty of blame to go around with a 1-7 record and the New York Jets have plenty of targets when grading the team on their performance at the half-way point in the season. But when it comes to the men in charge, they also have to be responsible for preparation.

OVERALL (D)

Well, at least both main parties here are making attempts to take the blame for the other and throwing themselves under the bus. Both general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan have made ‘the buck stops here’ speech and in the case of Idzik, not enough bucks. But we’ll get to that later.

COACHING STAFF (D)

It’s hard not to root for a guy like Ryan, who is very passionate and open with the media. But this is a results business and the defensive guru has even said as much. So he needs to be taken to task for this disaster as much as anyone and by Ryan constantly stating that personnel decisions are a group effort, misreading talent can also be partially pinned on him.

Another knock on Ryan has been his constant emphasis on how good the team appears in practice but they do not execute what they worked on during the games. Although he made the following comments after Wednesday’s practice session, it may as well have been any of the seven previous weeks.

"Today we had a good practice. I always seem to say it and we have had a lot of good practices and hopefully it will carry over into the game. Unfortunately, it [hasn’t] been a great indicator of how we’ve been playing. But I truly believe that to play well, you have to practice well."

One can speculate that the players may not be buying into what Ryan preaches but that goes against all of the positive comments they have made about their field boss since he arrived in 2009.

So the only reason that makes sense is that Ryan just is not a good enough head coach when it comes to putting together and having his players execute a game plan.

What does that mean? The Jets will be looking for another head coach in the offseason and possibly a general manager if owner Woody Johnson chooses to clean house.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg was lauded in 2013 for his play calling and the fact that the Jets were able to go .500 starting an inconsistent rookie quarterback in Geno Smith and not a deep team at all when it comes to the skill positions.

So when the likes of running back Chris Johnson, wide receiver Eric Decker and tight end Jace Amaro were brought in, it seemed that the Jets were prime for a year where they made a run for the postseason.

That obviously is not the case and the benching of Smith is a huge step back for not only the player, but Ryan and Mornhinweg, as well.

Mike Pettine left the Jets in 2013 and Dennis Thurman was elevated from defensive back coach to the coordinator spot and he, too, has had a down season after a promising one a year ago. The Jets front seven has performed well at times but their secondary is brutal.

While that’s not the fault of Thurman entirely (it lies more on Idzik’s shoulders), he hasn’t been able to shift the emphasis more on the pass rush to keep the defensive backfield from being exposed.

Whatever the case may be, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Ryan and his entire staff will be replaced.

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FRONT OFFICE (D-)

Not managing the salary cap well and leaving the secondary as thin as he did may be the epitaph for Idzik in New York. Replacing Antonio Cromartie with Dimitri Patterson blew up in his face and when Dee Milliner went down for the season, it shouldn’t have been a surprise since the former first round draft pick has been injury prone all along.

By drafting Smith when he did and not being patient to wait for a stronger crop of quarterback prospects coming out of college a year later, Idzik pigeonholed himself and Ryan into playing the 2013 second round pick longer than he deserved.

For further proof, just go back to Idzik’s first free agent signing, running back Mike Goodson. Two months after joining the team, the former Oakland Raider was arrested for being the passenger in a vehicle that contained a gun (loaded with hollow point bullets), marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Goodson was also suspended by the NFL for the first four games of 2013 for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Then this past June, he skipped a mandatory mini-camp and was finally cut.

Owner Woody Johnson may decide to go in a completely different direction, even though Idzik has only been on the job for two years.

YESTERDAY: Special Teams

TUESDAY: Defense

MONDAY: Offense

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