NY Jets must stay away from these 2 retread head coach candidates

As another disastrous NY Jets season comes to a close, all eyes are set on the 2025 offseason and a crucial general manager and head coach search. After the failed Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh regime, which saw no playoff appearances and no winning seasons, it is more important than ever that New York gets this hire right.

The 2024 season also signals the 14th consecutive season without playoffs and the ninth consecutive losing season. New York's playoff drought is the longest in professional sports, while the nine straight losing seasons is the sixth longest losing season streak in NFL history.

To put it simply, the next regime already has a lot of work to do cleaning up an organization that is deeply entrenched in a losing culture. Many names have been brought up as possible options for the Jets' next head coach. Some of these names would be smart hires, while others would be the complete opposite.

Let's take a look at two coaching candidates that have been linked to the Jets in the early stages of this search, which Gang Green must avoid at all costs.

The NY Jets must stay away from Matt Nagy

Let's get right to the point: the Jets hiring Matt Nagy would be Adam Gase all over again. Similar to Gase only making a name for himself because of Peyton Manning, Matt Nagy has only made a name for himself because he has been carried by Andy Reid and now Patrick Mahomes as well.

Nagy spent 10 seasons under Andy Reid, split between Philadelphia and Kansas City before taking over with the Bears in 2018. Many look at Nagy's time in Chicago from the outside and see two playoff appearances and a 34-31 record, which doesn't seem bad from the surface.

However, brought in as an offensive-minded coach, Nagy was not able to ever get his offenses on track during his four seasons. During his time with the Bears, Nagy's teams were carried by one of the league's best defenses. In his four years, the Bears finished 3rd, 8th, 11th, and 6th in total defense.

That said, Nagy's offenses were a major weakness, finishing 21st, 29th, 26th, and 24th in total offense. Along with this, each year under Nagy, Mitch Trubisky got worse, and when Nagy got a chance to develop Justin Fields in his rookie year, it didn't accumulate too much either.

The New Jersey native took over the 30th-ranked offense in football, and over his four years, the Bears finished on average 25th in total offense. That is simply not good enough. After getting run out of town in Chicago, similar to Gase in Miami, Nagy getting a second chance in The Big Apple would be a complete disaster.

Just because he is now the offensive coordinator, where he doesn't even call the plays for a 15-1 Chiefs team, should not remove the fact that he failed in Chicago. It also shows his inability to have success when he isn't working for a head coach and a quarterback who will both end up in Canton one day.

The NY Jets must stay away from Arthur Smith

After spending three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, the Jets and Robert Saleh nearly hired Arthur Smith as an offensive assistant in the 2024 offseason before he took the offensive coordinator job in Pittsburgh. Fast forward a year later, and Smith's name has been linked to the Jets again, but this time New York needs to stay far away.

After spending 10 seasons with the Tennessee Titans in a variety of roles, Smith took over the Falcons job in 2021. To say his three seasons at the helm were poor might be an understatement. Smith finished 7-10 in each of his three seasons, finishing with a 21-30 record, which was an underwhelming .412 winning percentage.

Similar to Nagy, one of the reasons the Jets should not hire Smith is the Falcons' offensive struggles while he was the head coach. In his three years, the Falcons finished 29th, 24th, and 17th in total offense, which was, on average, a 23rd-ranked offense over his 51 games.

Another key factor in avoiding Smith, and maybe the most important of them all, was his inability to consistently use Bijan Robinson in his rookie season. The eighth overall pick in 2023 had just 214 carries in 17 games for 976 yards and four touchdowns.

Those 214 carries ranked 19th in the NFL. Fast forward one year later, and without Arthur Smith, Robinson has 259 carries for 1,196 yards and 10 touchdowns in 15 games so far.

The Jets have their own rising star running back in Breece Hall, who hasn't been used to his full potential under this current offensive staff. Hall has yet to surpass 16 carries in a game this season and still isn't used in the passing game as much as he should be.

Bringing in Smith would only add fuel to the Jets' inability to use Breece Hall consistently and properly. It would also be hiring a coach with a 21-30 record after the Jets fired Robert Saleh five weeks into the 2024 season, where he finished with a 20-36 overall record. This would not be the right move or much of an improvement.

More NY Jets news and analysis: