The New York Jets horrific 2018 season has finally come to an end after losing to the Patriots yesterday and to no surprise Todd Bowles has been fired a couple of hours after the game was over. The news wasn't a shock at all because we all knew what was going to happen it was only just a matter of when, Bowles finished his tenure with a record of 24-40 as well as three straight seasons going 5-11 after going 10-6 and just missing the post season for the first time since 2010. Despite being well respected around the league and the team, it wasn't enough to keep his job because at the end of the day it's all about the wins, losses, and the development of their young team. General manager Mike Maccagnan will be back and will be involved in the search for a new head coach and one that he wants, which leaves the question: what is the goal for this team going into the off season?
Maccagnan may be returning as the Jet general manager but by all means is he anywhere close to being safe in my opinion. He has made progress when it comes to bringing free agents who are essentially in the prime of their careers, however years of late round busts in the draft have been drastically hurting this team for years and he has contributed to that cause. Maccagnan will get his first crack at who he wants to bring that he believes will fit in this organization and whoever he brings in should be focused on developing their franchise quarterback. Here are some top five candidates that could fit this team.
Eric Bieniemy Offensive Coordinator Kansas City Chiefs: Another coach who is part of the Andy Reid coaching tree that could be as successful along with the others. Bieniemy took over for Matt Nagy as Andy Reid's top assistant and the results were that the Chiefs were ranked in the top five in points put forward, yards in total, and passing yards put up. Without a doubt he deserves to be considered a top candidate.
Jim Caldwell former Lions and Colts coach: Not the most sexy candidate as a coach but if you look at his track record, he is 62- 50 overall and only had two losing seasons in 2015 as well as 2011. Of course in 2011, he didn't have Peyton Manning under center and had non proven backups to take his place. But even with the Lions, they were mediocre at best therefore the result of his termination.
Lincoln Riley head coach at Oklahoma: Lincoln Riley is very intriguing because of the success Oklahoma had in recent years. He helped shape Baker Mayfield into the quarterback that he is and even led them to the college football playoffs this season.
Jim Harbaugh head coach at Michigan: This is a long shot for sure as he has mentioned countless times that he wants to stay at Michigan. However, when you look at what he did in the NFL with the 49ers (45-22-1, 5-3 in the playoffs) he should at least listen to some offers from NFL teams. The Jets tried to get him before back in 2009 and 2015, best believe they will try it again despite rejecting the rumors.
Brian Flores defensive coordinator New England Patriots: At just 37 years old, he was sought to be a serious candidate to take the Arizona Cardinals job. He is well regarded as a leader by players and colleagues. Could be another interesting pick because he may be the guy that will bring that type of fire to motivate the team.
Once they find their new coach, the next step is to bring players in. The Jets will go into this off season with $100 million in cap space and will select third in the 2019 NFL draft. They not only in to bring in talented players but to also bring in guys who are determined to win, Jamal Adams was very vocal about this team and that they lacked that fire. They have to bring in more weapons for Sam Darnold in his development and will have to do it through free agency because there is not a lot of guys offensively in the draft that will catch your eye. The next thing would be to re sign players like Anderson, Roberts, and Myers.
I would say that they use the third pick to draft a defensive end like Bosa to rush the passer, which is something that they need desperately. But this is where Maccagnan really needs to step up and find guys late in the draft that could help impact this team.