3 outside-the-box OC candidates the NY Jets should consider hiring

Robert Saleh and the NY Jets brain trust have cast a very wide net in their search for a coach to coordinate the team's offense in 2023.

Because of a competitive landscape with as many as 12 NFL teams seeking offensive coordinators, the Jets franchise should consider expanding its overall view a bit further to candidates who are not currently on other teams' radars.

The challenges facing the Jets in their search for an offensive coordinator are two-fold. Firstly, competing for offensive coordinator candidates in a field that could have as many as 12 openings across the NFL is difficult enough.

On top of that, the biggest challenge facing Robert Saleh in luring a new offensive boss is his potential lame-duck status as Jets head coach. 

Jets GM Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh are effectively entering a contract year in 2023. Another disappointing season for the Jets' could mean a complete organizational reset by owner Woody Johnson in 2024.

The problem is that prospective candidates know that.

Established and rising offensive assistants have a ton of options this offseason, and they don't want to join a team where they could easily be looking for a new job in a year's time.

You see it happen all the time in the NFL coaching cycle — head coaches on shaky ground struggling to entice coaches to join them.

A year ago, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule struggled to entice coaches to take over his offense after he jettisoned Joe Brady. The end result, Rhule roped in Ben McAdoo, who hadn't come close to another prominent coordinator job since being let go by the Giants six years ago. 

Two immediate examples of the Jets' dilemma in their offensive coordinator search is that Miami Dolphins assistant Darrell Bevell reportedly withdrew himself from consideration for the Jets OC job. He did the same with Washington, who has a similar situation with head coach Ron Rivera on his last legs.

As further evidence, one of the Jets' greatest assistants in the last decade or so, Bill Callahan, turned down an opportunity to interview for New York's offensive coordinator job and will remain in Cleveland.