New York Jets CEO Christopher Johnson is reportedly very high on Mike McCarthy as the next head coach of the team.
Christopher Johnson might be going big-game hunting for the New York Jets’ next head coach.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini was told by a league source that Johnson is “enamored with” former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Johnson, who is running the team while his brother Woody is serving as ambassador to the UK, is in charge of the team’s coaching search.
McCarthy has experience, having spent the last 13 seasons as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, where he won Super Bowl 45 with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback.
He has a coaching record of 135-85-2 including playoff games, and would be the team’s first coach with prior NFL head coaching experience since Bill Parcells (excluding Bill Belichick, who famously quit before coaching a game).
McCarthy has worked with great quarterbacks before, such as Rodgers and Brett Favre, which no doubt makes Johnson excited as the team hopes to further develop Sam Darnold. He would also certainly give the Jets the big name they’re looking for at head coach to become relevant once again.
On the other hand, his failure to win regularly in the playoffs (10-8 career record) with two of the best quarterbacks ever raises concerns about how good of a coach he really is. The fact that he was not able to repeatedly reach Super Bowls with Rodgers suggests that his scheme is flawed.
In fact, Rodgers got so fed up with the plays that McCarthy called that he started changing plays in the huddle, per teammate Marcedes Lewis. He told the story on Mostly Football, and while Rodgers has the clout to do that, Darnold doesn’t have the experience for that yet.
Mike McCarthy: *signals a play in*
Aaron Rodgers: Very cool but no thanks. @MarcedesLewis89 offers a glimpse into the final days of Mike McCarthy as head coach of the #Packers pic.twitter.com/wUHVU5uIFk
— Mostly Football (@MostlyFBShow) January 4, 2019
RELATED: The Jets Don't Need Mike McCarthy
One league source also told Cimini that McCarthy’s passion for coaching should be questioned after a 13 year run. “Coaches hit walls too. He should be the first guy hired, based on his resume, but there’s a reason why they were floundering the last two years. When you have a franchise quarterback, you can’t be that bad. That’s on him.”
McCarthy’s the big name that the Jets would like to add as a coach, but he does come with his flaws. The big question is whether or not he can overcome those to get the Jets to where they want to go.
If Christopher Johnson gets his way, we might soon find out.
