The New York Jets are excited to announce that former quarterback Chad Pennington will be the featured guest for the very first New York Jets Fan Club Q&A on Wednesday, February 19th, at 7 PM GMT. Exclusive to MVP members, this special event offers fans the chance to join the call and ask questions to the green and white icon.

A first-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, Pennington spent eight seasons with the Jets, earning a reputation for his exceptional passing accuracy. At the time of his retirement, he held the NFL record for completion percentage. Over his career, he amassed more than 17,800 passing yards and a total of 109 touchdowns.

Pennington led the Jets to the playoffs three times in his career, including to their last division title in 2002. He is also a two-time winner of the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, in 2006 and 2008.

Eligible MVP fans can find the event within the rewards section of the membership portal. Redeem this event item, and you will receive an email with details on dialling into the live session. Rookie members will not be able to join the Q&A live, but will be able to watch the recording after the session, as it will be made available on the portal at a later date.

With the new leadership team in place for the Jets, the focus now turns to the roster construction element of the offseason.

I’m sure that Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn are already deep into the evaluation process, pinpointing areas of the team to strengthen across free agency and the draft. 

We’re going to focus today on three positions in the 2025 NFL Draft that are absolutely loaded with talent, not just at the top but throughout. 

Fortunately for the Jets, those positions just so happen to coincide with some of the biggest perceived needs for the team. 

Tight End

There may not be a Brock Bowers-type talent in this year’s draft, although Penn State’s Tyler Warren is challenging that theory based on his 104-reception, 1233-yard, 8-touchdown season in 2024. He’s almost certainly a top 15 talent in the draft and it’s likely he’ll be joined in the first round by Michigan’s Colston Loveland who put up a respectable 56 catches, 582 yards and 5 touchdowns despite inconsistencies at the QB position. 

Warren’s in-line blocking paired with his receiving talent will likely ensure he’s the first TE off the board, but Loveland has all the potential to be a dominant receiving threat in the NFL. 

Those two are the top talents in the draft, but the real depth of this TE class sits between rounds two and five. Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr is smaller than the top two, but he’s coming off a 117-catch season, racking up 1555 yards and 10 touchdowns. Texas man Gunner Helm was the go-to target for Quinn Ewers and finished his college career with 12.9 yards per reception, showing his downfield potential. Miami’s Elijah Arroyo is currently enjoying a great start to Senior Bowl week in Alabama and weighed in heavier than expected, which will only increase his draft stock. 

As you start to move further down the draft you get to guys like Benjamin Yurosek from Georgia who’s body of work in college won’t blow you away, but the potential to develop is astronomical. Mitchell Evans from Notre Dame, Eli Stowers from Vanderbilt, Mason Taylor from LSU and Terrance Ferguson from Oregon are all players who will likely go on day two or early on day three.

It’s not often you get a TE class as deep as the 2025 one and with Tyler Conklin and Kenny Yeboah set to hit free agency and Jeremy Ruckert entering the final year of his rookie contract, TE is a glaring need for the Jets. 

Safety

It’s been a while since the Jets invested heavily in the safety position, but with defensive back Aaron Glenn at the helm that could change in 2025, and fortunately for the Jets the safety class is ripe for picking. 

Look at enough draft rankings and you’ll see that Georgia man Malaki Starks is largely considered to not only be the best safety in the class, but one of the best players full stop. Starks finished his three-year Georgia career with 6 interceptions, 17 passes defensed and 44 defensive stops. With great size and instincts, he’ll be a top-15 player from this class. 

If the first round is a little too rich for your taste, you’ll find plenty of talent through rounds 2-3 starting with my favourite safety prospect in the draft, Xavier Watts from Notre Dame. Watts has that canny ability to seemingly know the play before the ball is snapped, and his instincts and ball pursuit are at an elite level. Watts allowed just 1 touchdown in over 1,100 coverage snaps in college and brought down 13 interceptions in the last two years. 

Further down you get prospects like Sebastian Castro from Iowa, Kevin Winston Jr from Penn State, Lathan Ransom from Ohio State, Nick Emmanwori from South Carolina and Andrew Mukuba from Texas, all of whom will likely be gone before the fourth round starts. Mukuba in particular is coming off an outstanding season where he allowed just 43.5% of passes to be completed into his coverage with 0 touchdowns allowed and 5 interceptions. 

If you want a little sleeper to keep an eye on, Upton Stout from Western Kentucky is on the smaller side but happens to be one of the best tackling safeties in college football. 

Defensive Tackle

The Jets have worked to find a running mate for Quinnen Williams for a while now, and the 2025 draft is possibly their best route to find a long-term solution. It’s arguably the deepest position in the draft. 

Starting at the top you have Mason Graham, a player I looked at last week in my preview of the Jets #7 selection in the draft. He’s a dominant and disruptive force in the middle, capable of taking on and beating double-teams. If paired with Quinnen, it’s going to present a big headache for offensive line coaches around the NFL. 

Graham is supported by a number of outstanding prospects and it wouldn’t shock me to see four defensive tackles taken in the first round. Kenneth Grant who’s a teammate of Graham at Michigan has been one of the best run defenders in college, closely followed by Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams. T.J. Sanders has the pop in his hands and the long arms to swallow up interior runners, and with plus explosion he’s a guy that defensive line coaches will love to work with. 

That’s just the first round. Go further down the draft and you get guys like Walter Nolen who arguably is a first-round talent himself. Omarr Norman-Lott is a big unit who flourished after transferring to Tennessee from Arizona State. Texas man Alfred Collins doesn’t possess the pass-rush potential of some of the names on this list, but he’d come in and instantly upgrade any team’s interior run defense, something the Jets struggled with at times in 2024. Deone Walker is a giant of a man and has already turned some heads at the Senior Bowl in Alabama. 

A testament to this position’s depth, all the guys mentioned so far will probably be gone by the start of the third round. Then you start looking at guys like Derrick Harmon from Oregon, JJ Pegues from Ole Miss, Simeon Barrow Jr. from Miami and you’re still only around the 4th round. In fact, I’ve seen some of those guys around the first and second round, especially Harmon who Daniel Jeremiah had as his 22nd overall prospect. 

It’s a good year to need a tight end, safety and defensive tackle… and you could argue those are three of the biggest priorities for the Jets.

As the Jets continue to work towards hiring a new GM and HC, we’re starting to look deeper at the list of offseason tasks. 

Last week we took a quick look at some key pieces the Jets may want to work to keep in the building, and today we’re going to be looking at potential additions through the draft. 

One of the marquee events of the offseason, the NFL Draft represents an opportunity to improve your team, and in a hurry. For a team picking inside the top 10, it’s a chance to snag an elite prospect that offers immediate impact. 

Some teams draft for need, whilst others work on a ‘best player available’ approach. When those two approaches overlap, good things happen. 

Today, I wanted to outline four potential prospects the Jets could be eyeing up with their 7th overall selection. It’s important to note that we’re still at the start of this process. Later this month we have the Senior Bowl down in Alabama, then comes the NFL Combine, individual meetings and interviews and a whole lot of deep diving. 

It’s always hard to project players at certain draft spots. One unexpected selection or one major trade can throw the draft into upheaval, but even at this point in the process you tend to have a vague idea of who is likely to go in the top 10. So here are some top prospects to watch for the Jets; note that this isn’t an exhaustive list, just four players who are good options. 

Mason Graham – Defensive Tackle – Michigan

If, like me, you’re addicted to mock drafts, this is a name you’ll be very familiar with. Graham is projected to the Jets more than any other player and for good reason. Rated as PFF’s #1 defensive tackle in college this season, Graham possesses all the skills required to make an effortless leap to the NFL. Graham spent three productive years at Michigan, which included a national title in 2023, and his disruptive nature inside would be the perfect complement to Quinnen Williams, giving the Jets one of the premier pairings of defensive tackles in football.

9 sacks and 18 tackles for loss over the last three years don’t do his impact justice. His 12% run stop rate was the 2nd highest in college football and his sub 5% missed tackle rate is elite. He has the upper body strength and agility to work as both a pass-rusher and run defender and his high motor and effort would be welcomed by whoever is named the Jets new Head Coach. 

Abdul Carter – Defensive End – Penn State

There’s a reason that Micah Parsons is campaigning for Carter in Dallas. The Penn State product is one of the most dominant pass-rushers to come out of college in a while. Some will question his ability to stand up in the run-game, but his ability against the run is far superior than a lot of pass-rushers who have been taken in the first round recently. Carter is coming off a 13 sack, 66 pressure season with Penn State and he’s equally productive coming off the left or right side. 

Although the Jets have two very good pass-rushers in Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald, you can never have too many players capable of disrupting the QB. There’s a very good chance that Carter is taken before the Jets come to make their selection, but if he is there it’s going to give the Jets a lot to think about. 

Will Campbell – Offensive Tackle – LSU

If you’re looking for an offensive tackle you’re in luck. The 2025 draft could see as many as seven offensive tackles taken in the first round, and I’m pretty confident stating at least four will go within the first 25 picks. I’m still not entirely sure who the best tackle in the draft is; most have Will Campbell, some have Josh Simmons from Ohio State and some have Kelvin Banks Jr from Texas. For the sake of this piece, I’m going to go with Will Campbell from LSU. 

Campbell has everything you want from a tackle. He’s a dominant pass-protector, who plays with excellent leverage and hand-placement with the anchor to handle bull rushes and the agility to combat speed rushers. In over 1,500 pass-blocking snaps in college he’s allowed only 49 pressures and 4 sacks, that’s a pressure every 33 snaps and a sack every 398 snaps. 

The Jets drafted a tackle last year in Olu Fashanu and taking Campbell would mean moving one of them to RT, but on the plus side it would give the Jets a dominant pair of tackles for the next decade. Building through the trenches is never a bad idea in my opinion. 

Will Johnson – Cornerback – Michigan

The Jets have been very fortunate recently with the outside corner pairing of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, but with Reed heading to free agency there may be a pressing need for a more permanent partner for Sauce. Enter Will Johnson, who is largely considered a top-10 prospect and the #1 out-and-out corner, although cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter will likely be picked ahead of Johnson. 

Johnson possesses the size, length and frame for a starting corner in the NFL and his physicality and versatility make him ideal for any system. At Michigan he’s played a mix of man and zone coverage, and his 9 interceptions in the last three years show that he has a nose for the ball. 

Only three teams in the NFL recorded fewer interceptions than the Jets 7 this year, and considering Johnson has that turnover potential to go with the skillset and the stats (0 touchdowns allowed in the last two years, 53.6% career passing completion allowed) he would be a very interesting prospect for the Jets.

The New York Jets are busy interviewing for the leadership team of tomorrow and one of the first obstacles to navigate for the new GM will be free agency, which kicks off with the start of the new league year in March. 

The Jets have been big players in free agency recently, but before we get to the players they could bring in from other teams, we need to decide on those currently rostered. 

As things stand, the Jets have 20 different players heading to free agency. 16 of those players are unrestricted free agents and 4 are restricted free agents. 

Unrestricted free agents will have four or more years of NFL service and once free agency hits, they’re open to negotiate with any and every team. If they decide to sign with another team, they’re not obligated to give the Jets a chance to match the offer and the Jets won’t receive any compensation in return. 

Restricted free agents will have three accrued NFL seasons and while they can negotiate with any team and sign with any team, the Jets will be given an opportunity to match the offer. If the Jets decide to match the offer, then the player is obligated to remain with the team. If the player leaves, then the Jets would receive compensation based on the tender they tag the player with.

Those are very simplistic terms, but without going into the specifics of each tender it’s a good starting point to understand the situation we’re in. 

Restricted Free Agents

Chazz Surratt, Irvin Charles, Xavier Newman-Johnson, Tony Adams

With restricted free agents, there is always a good chance that they all return to the team. I think that’s likely going to be the case here. 

Chazz Surratt and Irvin Charles were two of the best special teams performers for the Jets in 2024 with 7 and 5 tackles respectively. Charles was graded by PFF to be the best special teams player on the team and his 88.6 grade put him inside the top-10 for the season across the league (minimum of 150 special team snaps). 

Charles unfortunately sustained a torn ACL against the Miami Dolphins in week 14 and the Jets will be hoping his recovery puts him on track for the 2025 season. 

Xavier Newman-Johnson only played a handful of snaps this year but showcased his versatility in 2023 when he appeared at three different positions along the offensive line and Tony Adams played in over 750 snaps this season and made 84 tackles with 1 interception. 

Adams and Charles need to be protected with tenders, but I think all four will return. 

Unrestricted Free Agents

Haason Reddick, D.J. Reed, Tyler Conklin, Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, Javon Kinlaw, Solomon Thomas, Ashtyn Davis, Wes Schweitzer, Leki Fotu, Isaiah Oliver, Chuck Clark, Kenny Yeboah, Malik Taylor, Jamien Sherwood, Brandin Echols.

As you can see from the extensive list of players, there’s likely going to be a lot of change in that locker room at One Jets Drive. 

There is an argument that can be made for each player, whether that’s past performance, future potential or just seeing what someone can do who wasn’t able to perform this year due to injury or any number of other reasons. 

To work through all these individual players would take some time, so I’m going to pick out three names that I think the new GM should prioritise. 

Morgan Moses

There’s a reason the Jets players chose Morgan Moses for the “Most Inspirational” gong in the end-of-season awards, very few players command the level of respect that Morgan does.

It was a difficult season in many ways for Moses who played through injuries and was forced to miss multiple contests. The 723 offensive snaps played was his lowest total since his rookie year with Washignton back in 2014. 

But when he was on the field he was a reliable pass-protector and effective run-blocker. At 33 he still has plenty left in the tank and I feel his experience will be vital in 2025. 

The Jets are likely to field a starting offensive line that includes 22-year-old Olu Fashanu, 27-year-old John Simpson, 23-year-old Joe Tipmann and 25-year-old Alijah Vera-Tucker. Having a fully healthy Morgan Moses to support that room would be a big benefit. 

D.J Reed 

Reed has said that he’s looking forward to experiencing free agency to see how teams see him. Considering what he’s put on tape over the last few years, you have to imagine the answer to that question is “very favourably”. 

D.J has spent three good years in New York forming one of the most dominant cornerback trios alongside Sauce Gardner and Michael Carter II. He’s coming off a year where he allowed just 58.3% of passes to be completed into his coverage and 7 passes defensed. 

His effort level could never be questioned and that was evident against Miami in the final week of the season where he ran close to the length of the field to make a TD saving tackle. It epitomises the kind of effort and competitiveness that Reed brings to the table, and those guys are players you want to go to war with. 

It may be that the Jets get outbid for Reed, as unfortunately the reality of the NFL salary cap means you can’t pay everyone as much as you’d love to. 

Jamien Sherwood

Sherwood was finally given an opportunity to play consistently in 2024 under unfortunate circumstances (injury to captain C.J Mosley), but he rewarded the Jets patience with an outstanding season, one to be proud of as a first-time starter. 

Before this season Jamien had played just 357 defensive snaps across three years as he transitioned from safety to linebacker and say behind Mosley to learn how to be a leader and general on the defensive side of the ball. 

This season Sherwood played 1,063 defensive snaps and led the team with 158 tackles which included 98 individual tackles, 2 sacks, 3 passes defensed and 10 tackles for a loss. 

That was in his first year as a starter, imagine what he could do in year two. Think to the improvement we saw with Quincy Williams. To me Sherwood should be the priority signing of the off-season for the Jets. 

Jets Will Return to London in 2025, Set to Host a Game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
President Hymie Elhai: ‘It’s Another Great Opportunity for Our Organization’

The National Football League announced Friday the Jets will play an international game in London during the 2025 regular season. The Green & White will host one of their home games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – the only purpose-built NFL stadium outside of the U.S.

“We are excited to bring the unique and entertaining atmosphere of a New York Jets home game to London as part of the 2025 NFL International Games,” said Jets president Hymie Elhai. “It is another great opportunity for our organization to build upon our brand and fandom in the U.K. which we have enjoyed cultivating the last few years. The success of the NFL’s international games speaks directly to the sport’s increasing global reach, and we are proud to continue as ambassadors of the game.”

The international contest will mark the Jets’ third game in Tottenham in five seasons but first as the “home” club. As the “visiting” team at the stadium referred to by some as “New White Hart Lane,” the Jets dropped one-score contests to the Falcons and Vikings in 2021 and last October, respectively. The Jets’ opponent at Tottenham, along with the game date and kickoff time will be announced when the NFL’s full 2025 schedule is revealed this spring.

“We look forward to welcoming the Jets, Browns and Jaguars to London as part of the 2025 NFL International Games,” said NFL U.K. & Ireland General Manager Henry Hodgson. “This season will see us surpass 40 regular season games in the capital, a testament to the role the U.K. has played in growing the game globally. The London games are a continued catalyst for year-round fan engagement and we are focused on serving our 15 million fans, reaching new communities and driving growth in flag football participation, which now sees over 100,000 young people play the game.”

This year’s London game will be the seventh game played by the Jets outside the United States. In the regular season, the Jets have won twice on the international stage, 19-13 over the Bills in Toronto in 2009 before a 27-14 takedown of the Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in 2015.

As part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, the Jets hold marketing rights in the United Kingdom. The initiative awards NFL clubs international marketing rights to build brand awareness and fandom beyond the U.S., through fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities.

While both the Jets and the Browns will host games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Jaguars will return to Wembley Stadium as part of their multi-year commitment to playing a game in the U.K..

Beginning in 2025, the NFL can schedule up to eight league-operated regular season games internationally. The NFL will also play regular season games in Madrid, Spain at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid C.F., and in Berlin, Germany at the Olympic Stadium. Other games and locations will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Since the NFL started playing internationally in 2005, a total of 55 international regular-season games have been staged with London (39), Toronto (6), Mexico City (5), Frankfurt (2), Munich (2) and Brazil (1) all playing host to NFL teams. The league has played a preseason game or regular season game in five of the seven continents.

Fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland can sign up to New York Jets Fan Club, our official international membership programme, and register their interest for tickets now. Existing members can sign in to the portal on the login page, whilst new members can sign up now on our website home page.

The curtain is about to come down on another Jets season, and instead of looking back to 2024, it’s time to look forward to 2025. 

Top of the offseason priority list is identifying new hires at general manager and head coach. The Jets have already started their interview process and after taking a look at some of the things I’d like to see from the new GM, it’s time to turn our focus to the head coach role. 

This week, the team confirmed that they have conducted an interview with Ron Rivera for the position and former Jets head coach Rex Ryan has made it clear that he’d like to be under consideration. 

NFL rules limit the interview process for hiring teams at this stage of the season, but personnel from teams who will receive a first round bye will be able to hold online interviews. 

During the NFL spring meetings, it was decided that interviews with coaches who are in the playoffs can last a maximum of 3 hours, and the time for the interview needs to be agreed with the coaches current employer so as not to interfere with game preparation. 

So with all that said, the Jets are at the very start of this process. 

There are no indications on whether the team will look to hire a general manager first, but we can take solace in the fact that the process is underway and it’ll be exhaustive in order to find the right candidates to take this team forward. 

Any head coach stepping into the role will have plenty to work with. It’s not often an opening appears where the offensive line is largely settled, the team has a young star receiver and running back, a star corner and three key pieces on the defensive line as well as multiple talented linebackers. 

So what kind of coach should the Jets be looking for? 

Leadership

I think sometimes we can get far too caught up with whether the man in charge is an offensive or defensive minded head coach. In reality, that really shouldn’t matter because once you’re hired as a head coach you’re hired to lead the entire roster, not just one side of the ball. The head coach needs to set the tone, create the foundation for the success and actively maintain a culture that leads to consistent winning. 

Some of the top coaches in the NFL don’t call plays on either side of the ball and personally I think that’s beneficial for a team who are looking to form an identity across the board. Play-calling on one side of the ball can draw too much of the head coach’s attention and having trusted coordinators doing the job leads to accountability. Dan Campbell doesn’t call plays in Detroit, although he’s done so in the past, and there is probably no hotter coach in football right now than Dan Campbell.

Is prior experience necessary? 

When you make certain decisions and they don’t work out, it’s natural to want to do a 180 for the next hire. If your previous head coach was a defensive guy, then some will be adamant the next head coach needs to be an offensive guy. If the last guy was a first-time head coach, then some will be adamant that the next man up needs to have experience. I think that’s a dangerous way to look at things and can lead you into making bad choices based on rigid guidelines. 

Dan Campbell had only ever been in interim charge for a short period before Detroit, Kevin O’Connell was a first-time head coach in Minnesota, plus Matt LaFleur, Sean McVay, Sean McDermott and even someone like Mike Tomlin were all first-time head coaches in their respective positions. If there is an Andy Reid out there then you go and get him but handing over the keys based solely on experience is a mistake. 

For me, having experience within the NFL is important and most head coaches come from the coordinator position, but having previous head coaching experience is not the silver bullet that some people make it out to be. 

Clear Vision & Communication

When Kevin O’Connell took over as the Minnesota Vikings head coach he had a clear vision, and I remember reading an article about how he would clearly communicate difficult concepts that made them easy to absorb and utilise. He calls it “dot-connecting”: tying things together with certain words all relating to the same theme. For the Vikings that can be sports cars, big cats etc. Having that clear vision of what you want your team to stand for and how you want them to operate is vital. 

Sticking with O’Connell because as a former Jet I’ve enjoyed following his career; he’s always been open to two-way communication. If players want to change the way they attack it then he’ll do that, as he explained in an article on The Athletic: 

“I’m not the one out there running the play,” O’Connell said. “If it doesn’t infringe upon the play-caller’s intent or the design of the play, ‘It’s yours, guys.’ I think that there is power in that, in this day and age … when they feel like they are a voice at the table, not just someone being talked to.”

It may seem overly simplistic to say the new coach needs a clear vision and communication, but I think many hires have failed when the individual either doesn’t have that set vision and instead has a lot of borrowed concepts, or the system is too convoluted to operate at a high level. 

Final Thoughts

Hiring a head coach is a difficult job. Not every coach will have the same impact in every single environment and there are no hard and fast rules for how to get this right. But if you can find someone who has an aura of leadership while having elite communication with a clear vision then you’re on the right track. 

Let the exhaustive search commence.

The 2024 season is winding down to a conclusion and it’s fair to say that it didn’t go to plan for the Jets. A season that started with Championship aspirations is ending in disappointment.

While that’s hard to take for us fans, this offseason represents a period of hope. The Jets will be looking for a new GM to lead the ship, and that in itself is an exciting proposition.

The search for a new GM promises to be comprehensive, with the Jets hiring The 33rd Team, led by former GM Mike Tannebaum and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman to help with the search. 

Although this will be the first time that the 33rd Team as an organisation has assisted an NFL team with a GM search, Spielman was part of the six-man panel last year that helped the Washington Commanders hire Adam Peters, so not only will he bring knowledge from his own time as GM, but he also has first-hand experience helping a team pick a new GM. 

The team has started to release information on preliminary interviews with candidates this week, including Thomas Dimitroff, Jon Robinson and Jim Nagy. This marks the start of an exhaustive manhunt to find the right person who possesses the perfect skills and attributes. 

But what should the Jets be looking for in a new GM? 

Here’s what I’d like to see from the new man in charge:

Strong college scouting background

Good franchises who are consistent winners tend to be the ones that scout well. The foundation of any team is built through the draft. It’s something the Jets have done well over the last few years with Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Will McDonald and Olu Fashanu among others appearing to be the keystones to build around. It’s hard to be a consistent winner by relying on free agency to build out your team; missing on draft picks can set franchises back years, as we have seen up and down the NFL. 

So when I look at a potential candidate’s background I like to focus on their scouting experience. Have they played the game? Have they worked as a road scout or an area scout, putting in the long hours and the high miles? Have they been recognised within their organisation and promoted to hold more authority in the scouting game. A lot of general manager candidates would have started as scouting assistants, working their way up. 

You’re not going to hit on every single draft pick, but having a strong scouting background will set you up for success moving forward. 

Mentorship within the industry

The NFL is full of highly respected executives. Most of them are tied down to their current teams and going nowhere, they’re respected because they’re successful and if you’re successful in this league you tend to stay where you are. That’s frustrating for teams looking for the best but it also offers an opportunity. With the top job blocked, their assistants tend to have to look elsewhere to take the next step in their career. 

You look at someone like Ian Cunningham in Chicago. Outside of his own individual characteristics, his executive history makes him an appealing candidate for any open job. Not only has he worked for the great Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore, but he’s also worked for Howie Roseman in Philadelphia as well. 

You don’t work under two of the best in the business for as long as he did without picking up a few things here and there. He’s certainly not the only candidate to have worked in successful franchises under widely respected executives. 

The Franchise Turnaround

Not every GM job is the same. We can’t avoid the fact that the Jets have the longest playoff drought in North American Sports. So part of the remit for the new man in charge is being able to identify how to turn a franchise around. 

Most GMs walk into situations that require a little work; there’s usually a job opening for a reason. But in some situations, the GM needs to change the narrative, the perception and guide the franchise into a full turnaround. 

Look at the job that Jon Robinson did in Tennessee. Inheriting a team that had not been to the playoffs in 7 years and was coming off a 3-13 season, he helped guide them to the playoffs in 4 of his 6 full seasons in charge.

Ray Agnew in Detroit has been front and centre of the Lions renaissance. Before their playoff win against the Rams in 2023, you had to go back to 1991 to find the last one. The Lions went all the way to the NFC Championship game last season and they’ll be heading back to the playoffs this year. 

Securing a candidate from a franchise that has been a perennial winner has advantages, but for a team like the Jets, securing a candidate from a franchise that has experienced a turnaround may be more beneficial in the long run.