New York Jets should consider Dan Orlovsky for a coaching position

The New York Jets would be wise to consider offering former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky a coaching job amid recent reports.

The New York Jets are expected to go into the 2020 season with limited changes made to their coaching staff. But after a disappointing offensive output in 2019, perhaps the team should look to make a few changes.

The Jets offense finished last in yards per game and second to last in points per game in 2019 under first-year head coach Adam Gase. Excuses could be made for various injuries and letdowns, but there’s no argument to make that the Jets offense was good last year.

Not even good, there’s no argument that could claim that the Jets offense was even passable in 2019. It was downright abysmal.

Evidently, the Jets have remained steadfast with their opinion on Gase. But that doesn’t mean that changes shouldn’t be made. It’s almost unprecedented to see a unit struggle as much as the Jets offense did without any changes being made.

Even if it doesn’t come at the expense of the head coach, one would think that some of the offensive assistants would be labeled scapegoats for the team’s extensive struggles in 2019.

At the very least, a shakeup should be in order. Perhaps that opportunity could present itself in the case of a former NFL quarterback and highly-touted ESPN analyst who’s recently drawn the interest of several franchises.

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Dan Orlovsky‘s name has been circling around league circles in recent days after it was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the former Detroit Lions quarterback had been “receiving calls from NFL teams to gauge his interest in leaving [ESPN] for an offensive coaching job.”

Orlovsky played in the NFL from 2005 until 2017 before joining the ESPN crew as an analyst in 2018. And in the two years he’s spent with ESPN, the 36-year-old has received high praise from his peers and viewers alike for his extensive football analysis.

Obviously, Orlovsky is an unknown commodity as a coach and the world of coaching is very different than the world of being an analyst. But he seems to be a smart football mind who loves being around the game.

And it’s no coincidence that other NFL franchises have taken notice of this.

It might be smart for the Jets to bring in someone to help develop young quarterback Sam Darnold alongside the current staff. Dowell Loggains is currently pulling double-duty as the Jets offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

But given Loggains’ poor leaguewide reputation, it might make sense to bring in Orlovsky to assume some of the responsibility of the offensive staff.

It goes without saying that this is a longshot. For starters, it would take a pretty sizable offer to draw Orlovsky away from his lucrative gig at ESPN. In all honesty, a quarterback coaching job with the Jets likely wouldn’t do it.

But it’s at least worth kicking the tires on a bright, young offensive mind who could be brought in to assist in Darnold’s development. And after the offensive disaster that we saw last season, it’s hard to argue that Orlovsky could hurt.

It’s a bit outside the box, but that might be just what the Jets need to help fix their offense.