The Jets’ coaching search went off a Kliff on Tuesday, and now the question is: What’s next?
Gang Green saw one of its candidates, former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, sign with the Arizona Cardinals. Kingsbury, 39, had interviewed with the Jets on Monday and was a popular candidate with some fans because he is considered an offensive innovator.
It is unclear exactly how interested the Jets were in him. Some people believe the Jets just wanted to pick his brain and consider him for an offensive coordinator role if he did not become a head coach elsewhere.
Now, that’s out.
The Jets interviewed Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken on Tuesday, the eighth person known to have interviewed with the team. Monken was the last known scheduled interview, meaning the Jets’ search is about to enter a new phase.
The Jets now have a few choices to make. They could add more candidates if they are not sold on any of the coaches who have already interviewed. They could set up second interviews with one or two of the coaches they have already talked to. Or they could make the hire if they are sold on one of them.
This is a different group of people leading the search than in 2015, when the Jets interviewed seven candidates, then had Todd Bowles back for a second interview and hired him after that. They had added a late interview with Sean McDermott, canceled when they hired Bowles, which happened the week between the divisional playoff games and the championship games.
So far the Jets have interviewed Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, former Dolphins coach Adam Gase, former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, Cowboys defensive passing game coordinator/DBs coach Kris Richard, former Lions and Colts coach Jim Caldwell, Monken, Kingsbury and Baylor coach Matt Rhule (reported by CBS).
Coaches have started to come off the board, which may give the Jets a little urgency. The Packers (Matt LaFleur), Cardinals (Kingsbury) and Buccaneers (Bruce Arians) all have made hires in the past two days. Only Kingsbury was a candidate for the Jets job. As hires are made, the pool of assistant coaches thins. Coaches hired late in the cycle sometimes have a difficult time building good coaching staffs.
The Jets are one of five teams left with openings, along with the Dolphins, Bengals, Browns and Broncos. The Browns reportedly are down to Freddie Kitchens and Kevin Stefanski for their choice. The Broncos reportedly are choosing between Vic Fangio and Mike Munchak.
Monken is also under consideration for the Bengals job. The 52-year-old sat down with the Jets on Tuesday. He presided over a Tampa Bay offense that finished No. 1 in passing offense and No. 3 in the NFL this season. Prior to joining the Buccaneers in 2016, Monken was the head coach at Southern Mississippi for three seasons, going 13-26 there.
The biggest unknown in the search is Rhule, a New York native who has built programs at Temple and Baylor. It seems likely Rhule will either remove his name from consideration or get the job soon. The longer uncertainty lingers, the more it hurts his recruiting efforts at Baylor. Last year, Rhule interviewed with the Colts but quickly pulled out after word of the interview leaked.
Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades confirmed Rhule is getting interest from the NFL.
“He has been open with me, and yes, he has been approached by NFL teams, and he’s had a conversation or two, but I’m not going to reveal who those teams might be,” Rhoades told ESPN-Central Texas.
One knock on Rhule is a lack of NFL experience. He has spent just one year as an NFL assistant — 2012 with the Giants. He has coached on both sides of the ball during his coaching career, working as the offensive coordinator at Temple at one point.
He took over a Baylor team in 2017 that was coming off a sexual assault scandal. After an 1-11 year in ’17, the Bears went 7-6 with a Texas Bowl win in 2018.
Open and closed
A look at the eight NFL coaching openings this offseason and their status:
Jets
Vacant
Interviewed eight candidates
Cardinals
Filled
Hired former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury
Buccaneers
Filled
Hired former Cardinals coach Bruce Arians
Packers
Filled
Hired Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur
Bengals
Vacant
Interviewed Eric Bieniemy, Mike McCarthy and Freddie Kitchens
Dolphins
Vacant
Interviewed Bieniemy, Kris Richard, Brian Flores and Darren Rizzi
Broncos
Vacant
Deciding between former Titans coach Mike Munchak and Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio
Browns
Vacant
Have been linked to nine different candidates