Throughout the offseason, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Randy Lange, Susanna Weir and Jack Bell will give their responses to a series of questions regarding the Jets.
Today’s question: What is the Jets’ biggest offseason storyline?
EA: The Jets are equipped with financial flexibility and draft capital to attack multiple holes in their roster, but the coaching staff is the primary focus right now for HC Aaron Glenn. The Jets’ top storyline is their ongoing search for a defensive coordinator. They interviewed eight candidates virtually and that pool might be seven if Mathieu Araujo does end up in Jacksonville as has been recently reported. The second round for selected candidates will be in-person interviews. Glenn has stressed the importance of “synergy” between him and his new DC and that compatibility is just as important as coachability. Once that hire is in place, the club can dive into the scheme and personnel fits. The Jets are expected to have several new starters on a unit that transitioned away from a pair of elite talents in-season in exchange for players and multiple future assets. GM Darren Mougey said he’ll “exhaust every option” at quarterback this offseason and the Jets could add multiple QBs via free agency, trade and/or the draft. The team hopes to find stability at the position after starting three QBs for the sixth time since 2016.
RL: I’d love to be creative here, but storylines 1, 2 and 3 are the quarterback position. Will the Jets attempt to sign a short-term veteran in free agency? Will they like the QB landscape at their second overall perch? If not, might they trade down, grab another high pick, and see if the scenery looks more enticing? Do they wait for their 16th overall pick or Round 2 (picks 33 and 44)? Will Justin Fields get another chance to prove himself? And whoever they hand the ball to, can he stop the three-year life cycle of Jets quarterbacks? It started with Mark Sanchez in 2009, skipped a stop, then resumed with Ryan Fitzpatrick in ’15 (one season, really, but a great-looking season it was until Game 16 at Buffalo), Sam Darnold in ’18, Zach Wilson in ’21 and Fields in ’24. Finally, whoever the anointed one is, can the Jets surround him with all the talent he needs — on both sides of the ball — to get up and flying quickly? It’s a huge project, but other teams have gotten it done in the last decade, so one more question: Why not the Jets?