New York Jets: Five characteristics needed in the next head coach

Comfortable with Media

This might seem weird to mention, but the next coach does need to have a level of comfort with talking to the media.

This is New York, the biggest media market in all the land. When you look at the media rooms for some of the other teams, the corp of reporters is about 1/4 of the size. It’s huge in this town.

When you follow the Bill Belichick style of working the media, you have to win quickly. That wears thin when your team isn’t as good as his. It didn’t work for Todd Bowles and it didn’t work for Eric Mangini either.

It can get to anybody. Remember the press conference when Rex Ryan basically lost his mind and started talking to himself?

Any coach can lose it with the New York media. You have to be able to handle it each and every time you face them.

The one who handled it best was Bill Parcells. He was able to give information yet keep media members at an arm’s length. To be honest, he was pretty masterful at it and others are unlikely to do it as well.

But whether they had to deal in college or in the NFL, they must be comfortable dealing with the media. In New York they smell blood. They won’t let you get away with not dealing with them.

The Jets must look at the type of conversation they have with the candidate during the interview as that will say a lot about how they handle the media.

As small as it may sound, this also is crucial.