INDIANAPOLIS — All signs point to the Jets undergoing a complete rebuild in 2017.
The team has released or plans to release a number of its veteran players: Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, Breno Giacomini, Ryan Clady, Nick Folk are all out — and Thursday night, it was confirmed Brandon Marshall will join the list. It looks like a youth movement, which usually means the dreaded “R” word.
Just don’t tell coach Todd Bowles that the Jets are rebuilding.
“No, we’re always trying to win,” Bowles said Thursday, before the Marshall news, when asked if the Jets were rebuilding. “Whether we kept them or we let them go, we’re always trying to win. We don’t do anything in the mindset [of rebuilding]. You rebuild as far as people and names, but you don’t rebuild in terms of trying to win or not win. We’re trying to win all the time.”
Everything about a rebuild makes sense for the Jets, except for Bowles entering his third season as the team’s coach without a playoff appearance. This should be a make-or-break year for Bowles, who has two years left on his contract. But is it fair to expect much from Bowles if the Jets go into the season with first-time starters all over the field?
“I’m not afraid of the unknown,” Bowles said. “We don’t have the names that we had in the past, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have the players.”
This year is going to be a huge challenge for Bowles, who is 15-17 in his two years with the Jets. The team has holes all over its roster, starting with quarterback. Draft picks from the past two years — like Lorenzo Mauldin, Jordan Jenkins, Juston Burris and Brandon Shell — are going to be counted on to play bigger roles this season.
“As a coach, it’s going to be hard,” Bowles said. “You’re always going to have to replace some veteran players, whether they’re names or not names. That’s tough because you get to know them and spend time with them every day. The young players I don’t worry about because you have to teach. You teach football. Whether they’re old or they’re young, you treat them the same and you teach football. That the part of it I’m excited about. I’m not afraid of the unknown. I felt no differently the day I took the job than I do now. I have a lot of faith whether our older guys stay or we have some young guys come in and play. It’s up to us to teach them as coaches.”
The Jets still have free agency and the draft to add pieces to the team. Bowles said the Jets not only need to improve the roster, but also the way they approach things after a 5-11 season filled with problems.
“We just need to play smarter and more disciplined,” Bowles said. “That’s the biggest thing. We need to play smarter. It’s not a quality to add. I think we have to add the right people that take over the team to make this their team and add those qualities themselves and the coaches will emulate that and make sure we put that forward.”