John Idzik has been the Perfect Man for the New York Jets’ GM Job

Feb 21, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets general manager John Idzik speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets have made a lot of bad decisions through the years. Administratively, with coaching staff, and with players, the decisions made have often been memorable. Heck, as we all know, we can all go to YouTube and watch video that brings a medley of Jets’ mistakes.

However, the Jets have started this year with a great move, that may prove to be brilliant, story to be told in the years to come. Who am I talking about? John Idzik, the perfect man for the GM job with the team. We have talked about John a lot in recent weeks, but his work in revamping this team over the past few months deserves more discussion.

Just the fact that he comes from the outside is a major step up. Why? Because he had no allegiances to any of the current players. We know how Rex feels about his guys, Bart, Calvin Pace, …etc. Who is to say that if Rex had the final word, any of these guys would have been released? It’s only natural for this type of thing to happen. Every coach has guys that are “his guys”. You need a guy in the front office that doesn’t have ties to these guys, that will have no second thought at getting rid of them if needed. John Idzik has been exactly that guy.

That includes Darrelle Revis by the way. Of course the move was controversial, for everyone who loved it there was someone who hated it. No matter how you feel about the trade, the fact is, a GM with ties to Darrelle could not have made the move. An outside influence, that is making moves solely for the good of the team, was the only type that could make that trade, and that is what John Idzik is. Kudos to him for having the conviction to make it.

He also is perfectly creative, which was essential when he walked into the Tannenbaum salary graveyard. The Jets were in such bad shape, and they are still not totally out of it thanks to the Sanchez contract, that John was handcuffed out of a lot of moves. He had to look creatively, for the underpriced, but high reward type of moves. Willie Colon, Mike Goodson, Antwan Barnes, and Dawan Landry are perfect examples. In life, and especially in our current economy, we all have to get the most value for our dollar. John Idzik is doing exactly that.

Nov 4, 2012; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A fire breather performs during the wild asphalt circus before the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

And then there is something that might be most important. The circus is leaving town! Tim Tebow is gone, like it or not, he was part of the media problem. This team has enough trouble winning football games these days, we don’t need the constant media surrounding one man.

The leaks? What leaks? Manish Mehta and company must be very bored these days, as they don’t get any “scoops” anymore. Part of it is that Mike Pettine is gone, and he was known to be one of the consistent leaks. Whoever started it, John Idzik has finished it. You can’t get a thing out of the Jets these days, and you know what? It’s wonderful.

He is dead on accurate with promoting competition as well. In life, its human nature to get complacent. When we become settled in what we do, in any walk of life, we can get into bad habits. We are comfortable, and we don’t pay as much attention to what we do. It happens. I’m guilty of it, as I am sure that many people reading this blog are as well. It doesn’t make us bad, it makes us human.

However, if someone is looking over our shoulders, ready to take our jobs, we are going to work just a little bit harder, perform just a little bit better. That is what John Idzik is getting here, folks. Someone is looking for the shoulder of EVERY OTHER PERSON ON THE ROSTER. Competition makes us better. Every position, including the punter, will have competition this summer. Each player on this team will do one of two things, improve, or be gone.

In the draft, the man stuck to his guns. He picked the best player available, despite the fact that many of us wanted him to go in other ways. He has no alliances with past players, sticks to his convictions, as has our team functioning, like….a normal football team.

John Idzik is the man for the job, and I hope he is here a long time.