The Jets held an extensive search for their next head coach after firing Todd Bowles following the 2018 season. They eventually settled on Adam Gase.
Former general manager Mike Maccagnan led the search before deciding on Gase, but he never even made it to the regular season to see if he made the right call. Clearly, the decision to hire Gase seems to have been the wrong one, as the Jets are among the worst offensive teams in the league and own a 1-7 record after falling to the previously winless Dolphins.
So, what could have been if the Jets had chosen one of their other seven coaching candidates? Let’s took a look at how the rest of the Jets’ options are doing after not getting the job in New York.
Eric Bieniemy
Bieniemy stayed on as the Chiefs offensive coordinator after not winning any head coaching jobs.
His Chiefs are once again one of the top offenses in the league. Kansas City is 6-3 despite losing Patrick Mahomes to a knee injury and is currently sixth in points per game (28.0) and yards per game (390.78). Matt Moore, a former Gase quarterback, has stepped up nicely for the Chiefs, who are looking to make another run at the AFC Championship.
Todd Monken
Monken joined Freddie Kitchens’ staff as the Browns offensive coordinator after spending three years as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator.
The Browns offense hasn’t fared much better than the Jets this season despite a host of weapons that include Odell Beckham Jr. and Nick Chubb. The Browns are only 2-6 and their offense is ranked 25th in points (19.0) and 19th in yards (346.0). Baker Mayfield seems to have regressed as a quarterback as well – he has the lowest completion percentage among 33 qualified passers and leads the league with 12 interceptions.
Kris Richard
Richard stayed on as the Cowboys defensive backs coach in 2019. So far, they’ve allowed the seventh-fewest passing yards per game (220.9) and are tied for the third-fewest passing touchdowns (7).
Richard helped turn Byron Jones into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Jones is allowing the eighth-fewest receptions (14), fourth-lowest catch rate (45.2 percent), fourth-fewest yards per target (5.4) and the lowest burn rate (0.0 percent) through Week 9, according to Player Profiler.
Kliff Kingsbury
Kingsbury took the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job a day after interviewing with the Jets. The Cardinals are only 3-5-1, but Kingsbury turned the worst team in the league from a year ago into a competitive one. With 2019 first overall pick Kyler Murray at the helm, the Cardinals rank 19th in points (21.67) and 20th in yards (344.44).
Matt Rhule
The Jets were very close to hiring Rhule this past offseason, but ultimately chose Gase after Rhule and the Jets couldn’t agree on his coaching staff. Rhule returned to coach at Baylor.
In his third season, Rhule’s No. 11-ranked Bears are 8-0 and currently sit 15th in total offensive yards per game (480.3), 10th in yards per play (7.0) and 24th in points per game (36.1).
Mike McCarthy
McCarthy missed out on the Jets job and decided to take a year off from coaching. He had previously turned down head coaching roles with the Browns and Cardinals after the Packers fired him at the end of the 2018 season. McCarthy should once again be a hot head coaching candidate after a 125-77-2 record and nine playoff appearances in 13 seasons with the Packers.
Jim Caldwell
Caldwell joined the Miami Dolphins staff as an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in February after missing out on the Jets, Packers and Browns head coaching jobs. He went on a leave of absence for medical reasons in July, but stayed on as a consultant with the Dolphins.
