Mike LaFleur is on his way out of Florham Park.
The Jets parted ways with their offensive coordinator Wednesday after two disappointing seasons. New York’s unit finished in the bottom eight in both total offense and scoring each of the last two years under LaFleur’s watch. And for that, the organization is allowing him to pursue other coaching opportunities while the Jets will begin to find a replacement, per SNY’s Connor Hughes.
So the Jets now have two major question marks on that side of the ball: quarterback and coordinator. The former will be addressed in the coming months; the latter will be addressed ASAP.
Who could the Jets bring in to man this offense?
Frank Reich. He already looks to be one of the favorites for the job.
Sure, he hasn’t been a playoff coach since the 2020 season and was just canned after the Colts started the year 3-5-1. But if there’s one thing Reich has proven to do, it’s finding success even with questions looming over the quarterback position. And that’s what the Jets unfortunately possess at the moment.
From 2018-22, Reich was 40-33-1 as Colts head coach with two playoff appearances. And he never was able to locate quarterback stability after Andrew Luck’s stunning August 2019 retirement.
He had Jacoby Brissett, a temporary NFL starter at best. He had 39-year-old Philip Rivers. He had the shaky Carson Wentz. He had washed-up Matt Ryan before throwing a young Sam Ehlinger to the wolves. And still went 40-33-1 with two playoff appearances.
The Jets have a major issue at the game’s most important position. But Reich has experience with this type of situation.
Kliff Kingsbury. He’s currently unemployed after the Cardinals fired him on Black Monday. Kingsbury made the postseason just once in four years as Arizona’s head coach and finished this past season in the basement of the NFC West at 4-13. And that’s with talented players on the roster, including one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL in Kyler Murray.
The young coach could use a step back in hopes of eventually returning to the prominent role he just held for four years. And as an OC, why wouldn’t the Jets be a fit?
Kingsbury would bring a young, creative mindset to a mostly young and talented offense. He’d have various weapons to work with both in the running back and receiver rooms, with general manager Joe Douglas potentially adding another wideout this offseason.
While the quarterback situation is still uncertain, it’s tough to imagine Kingsbury (as an offensive coordinator, not a head coach) failing to maximize these weapons.
Shane Day. Nothing like using your coaching network to your advantage.
Shane Day was with head coach Robert Saleh in San Francisco from 2019-20, serving as the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach.
Now, he’s the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Chargers and has been since 2021. And in his first two seasons on Brandon Staley’s staff, the passing game has been stellar in LA.
The Chargers have been a top-three passing offense in the league each of the last two seasons, and Justin Herbert has proven to be one of the more talented quarterbacks in the league.
Day could work well with the Jets’ slate of weapons and figure out how to maximize the talent of whoever the starting quarterback is, just like he’s done with Herbert.
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