The New York Jets have seemingly filled their offensive coordinator hole from within the organization by promoting Jeremy Bates.
It was widely expected that the New York Jets would hire from within for their offensive coordinator vacancy. That’s exactly what they did, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, by promoting quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates.
Jets expected to promote their QB coach Jeremy Bates to offensive coordinator, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 22, 2018
While a lot of the success of the Jets offense this season got thrown at the feet of former offensive coordinator John Morton, it shouldn’t have been. Bates came back from a five-year hiatus to coach Josh McCown to the best year of his career.
The Jets desperately have been searching for not only a quarterback, but a quarterback whisperer. Bates has shown some chutzpah and that’s a good sign of things to come, especially with the Jets expected to bring in a new quarterback offseason.
So why did the Jets wait until now to promote Bates? Because the Philadelphia Eagles moved on to the Super Bowl. As I reported last week with the top five choices for the Jets OC position, Gang Green had their eyes set on the golden goose—Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.
Due to the Eagles pounding the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, the Jets would’ve had to wait in line until after the Super Bowl to get an interview, and even then, there were no guarantees.
DeFilippo has interviewed for multiple head coaching positions and offensive coordinator jobs as well. But the Jets couldn’t continue to wait for a chance that may have never happened. Bates may have been the backup plan, but he’s a good one to have.
Continuity is important to this team and now they have it with Bates coming back for 2018. This also means that Todd Bowles is putting himself out there and getting in bed with Bates. Although Bates will likely be schooling a new youngster under center next season.
