Underachieving Jets need to set their sights on Bill Cowher to replace Eric Mangini

Underachieving Jets need to set their sights on Bill Cowher to replace Eric Mangini
December 30
New York Daily News columnist Gary Myers
"The mandate for Woody Johnson to erase the humiliation of the greatest collapse in Jets history will take a little persuasion and a lot of his money. He has no choice. He has to go and get Bill Cowher.

It would take about two seconds for the Jets players and fans to embrace Cowher, the former Steelers' coach, and just slightly longer for him to get them into the playoffs and deep into January. He is so clearly the best candidate, there is no one even a close second. If Johnson can get "five years, $50 million" out of his mouth, could Cowher possibly say no?

The passion, the spit flying when he gets himself worked up at crucial moments in big games, all that personality, the Super Bowl ring, all are great selling points for Johnson as he peddles his PSLs in a down market and tries to win back his team's disgusted fans.

"I'm telling you, he wants to get back into coaching," said former Jets QB Boomer Esiason, who has sat with Cowher on the set of CBS' "The NFL Today" for the last two years. "I just don't know when it will be. The passion is still there. The fire. The chin. It's all there. If he wants it, he can write his ticket wherever he wants to go."

Eric Mangini was bad for business with his bland personality, his emotionless sideline demeanor and his awful game management skills, highlighted by his coaching meltdown in Seattle, when he made Herm Edwards look like Vince Lombardi. Mangini had no feel for his team. He had to go.

We're hearing Cowher is interested in the Jets, but he wants total control and the ability to put his own football management team in place. As of late last night, however, the Jets had not yet contacted him. But if the presence of GM Mike Tannenbaum is the impediment to Cowher taking the job, then Johnson has no choice: He must fire the other half of his Boy Blunders.

Tannenbaum is a lawyer. His background is not personnel. Bill Parcells brought him to the Jets, at the recommendation of Bill Belichick, to handle the salary cap. He worked his way to assistant GM and then jumped over Terry Bradway to GM one month after he got his buddy Mangini the head coaching job in 2006. They were low-level employees together in Cleveland when Belichick was the Browns' head coach.

Mr. T, as Parcells called him, maneuvered the cap so well the Jets were able to add $140 million in new contracts through free agency and trades this past offseason even before trading for Brett Favre. Money well-spent? The Jets are sitting home today after starting 8-3 but then finishing 1-4 against just one playoff team."
Link