By the time this season is over it is virtually a guarantee that the Jets will fire 6th-year head coach Rex Ryan (left). But why does he have to suffer for GM John Idzik’s (right) mistakes?
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(Opinion Column from Jonathan Machlin, NFL/NCAAF Writer for fanatix)
In 2011, the New York Jets started 8-5 before losing each of their last three games due in large part to failures by the offense. But head coach Rex Ryan and then-GM Mike Tannenbaum felt their QB could turn the corner, so they fired OC Brian Schottenheimer and doubled-down on Sanchez by giving him a lucrative contract extension in the offseason. (A contract so bloated it would prevent them from signing key free agents at a later time).
In 2012, Sanchez failed to develop at all and the team fell to a 6-10 record – their first losing season in 5 years. GM Mike Tannenbaum was fired but the team had a hard time finding a new General Manager for two reasons: to the lack of cap space for signing free agents available – See: Mark Sanchez contract but also because of Jets owner Woody Johnson’s declaration that whoever the new GM would be MUST keep Rex Ryan as the head coach.
By the time the Jets were finally able to settle on a new GM with John Idzik the team was in cap-space Hell and was not in a favorable position to negotiate a new contract with All-Pro CB Darrelle Revis, who was returning from an ACL tear. In a stunning move, Idzik traded Revis to the Buccaneers for a 1st-round pick and a future 4th-round pick. But bad blood was left between the two parties.
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