Fuck the "wasn't allowed to pick his own coach..." What in his resume says he should have been? Rex Ryan was a decent coach, he coached the JEts to TWO AFC Championship games and an 8-8 record with garbage personnel. No, Idzik's situation was not good when he took over. But THE TEAM wasn't any better two years later under his 'leadership'. So, damn right he was let go!!
The lowest of expectations you have...I'd hate for you to be my babysitter: "I only lost one of your three kids...and, by the way, I replaced your air conditioner with a broken window..."
Idzik definitely deserved much of the heat he got for his failings, and he brought the ax upon himself, but the majority of the good that you ascribe to Mac is directly related to, and only possible because of, the general direction Idzik was taking. Idzik's problem was the destructive duality of extremism and introversion; he wanted to take a difficult and dangerous route, but he didn't have enough charisma/leadership to show the way through the rockiness of the failure that came with those choices. In fact, I'm not even sure Mac would have taken the job if Idzik hadn't been so extreme in that direction. Despite a bumbling and meddlesome owner, Idzik left the Jets GM position in a very intriguing and desirable place for the next guy.
It is pretty standard that a GM gets to pick their own coach.... especially since they will want a coach with the same philosophy on style and players that they have. it is very rare, and almost unprecedented that a GM doesnt have that ability. Rex is a great coach, I wish he was still here... but that doesnt mean that Idzik wasnt still dictated to by ownership. of course it wasnt.... he was year 2 into a 3 year rebuild. thats like firing the guy you hired to paint your house because it isnt done after 3 days when he told you it would take 5 days right from the start. if idzik was GM he would be in the same spot Mac is now in.... 50M in cap room, the #6 pick and tons of options because of all those assets and flexibility. Had idzik been GM and make horrible moves/signings this year, thats when i think he could have been truly judged. but he isnt here, so its all speculation on what he would have done. again, i didnt really agree on his type of players, so im glad someone else gets to spend that cap room.... but to not credit him for getting us that cap room and pick is just haterade at its finest. "doing nothing" isnt the case. being disciplined and patient is what actually happened. and that is REALLY hard to do in NY, especially with this ownership. the right move was to throw away last season and get a high pick. and its paying off now.
"bottom 10 talent + 40M in cap room > bottom 10 talent no cap room" You DO realize a significant part of his job was to improve the talent, right? It wasn't just to not spend money. And, really, his improvements: Patterson (didn't make it through training camp). Breno (a lateral to Howard). Winters (a lateral to a turnstile). GeNO (everyone hates him). Pick a WR he chose last year who contributed a single catch...(oh wait!! there are none of the, what, 10 he took) and this is the guy you would chose to lead the Jets from the mess he helped make? Cap Hell lasts TWO years, MAX. So, not sure why this is heralded as some victory. It'd be a victory if we were actually WINNING at the end of it. Instead, we were losing more...
The only thing I question is Idzik not going after Revis last season. 1) I don't think he had any interest and/or would have pursued after trading Revis the season prior 2) I also don't believe for a second that Woody wanted anything to do with Revis last off season. If the billboards and airplanes accomplished anything it was Woody bending over for fan approval. It was pretty well reported that Woody and Revis team did not work well together. I remember reading here many times that Woody wanted nothing to do with Revis team toward the end. If anyone fucked up with Revis it was Tannenbaum who locked up money on the wrong players, instead of paying a stud that is #24. Idzik shot himself in the foot not adding depth to corner, but no one saw Milliner getting injured (after coming off a tremendous close to his 2013 rookie season 3picks in 4 games). I don't blame Idzik for not signing verner or DRC. He should have re signed Cro though, that was stupid. Revis was off the table (and i think) that was more on Woody than Idizk...a subject of "don't even go there". What happened next absolutely sucks for Jets fans, but it is what it is. Billboards, airplanes, GTFO... It didn't need to get to that point. Idzik did some good things, he brought in some talented players, some players that are still on the bubble and some duds. We all wish we had magic crystal balls to get the "winner" draft pick every time. It might also have been a challenge working with an Owner that is enamored with your HC. "Give me Pryor, I want Pryor" (which could still go down as a great pick). Ultimately, Idzik long term through the draft is not going to work in flashy New York City "now or never market." All said... I'm happy we got Mac, I'm happy Idzik was fired and Woody blew the whole shit up. The 2015 Jets look to impress, a lot to be excited about this season.
thats a poor anaolgy... it assume when i started everything was ok and i screwed up. Idzik started with a crap situation, and slowly put us in position to make it better, which we are now thanks to the cap room and high pick. a better analogy would be you hired me to watch your 3 kids, but the previous baby sitter lost 2 of them and u need them back by the time you get home... and you need your air conditioner fixed, but the previous baby sitter dropped it off the roof...."
He brought in A LOT of duds!! and, really, if my son tells me he wants trampoline for the living room, I'm sure I say "not on my watch..." I don't just give it to him. And, of course, we don't know how much Rex wanted him anyway. [I love it, the GM is responsible for all the "good" players chosen, but the HC is responsible for duds?!] There is no "long-term" NFL GM job, where you can look like a bumbler in free agency, draft a low percentage of good players from a good draft position, show a downward victory trend, and not be judged harshly.
Shows your lazy thinking. Pick your OWN analogy, loser! Idzik had the job for two years. At the end of it, the Jets had won 12 games and had virtually the same personnel deficiencies they had when he took over. NEXT....
Lol both analogies are bizarre.. I think your missing the point. We have cap room because idzik made obvious cuts anyone would have made... Sanchez,Holmes,pace, cromartie... Then we were out of Cap hell... He then in turn signed guys like jacoby ford. Lol he had no plan. His press confrence it's evident of that.. So like Clark has been pointing out over and over.. Cutting guys and not replacing them isn't a reason he should be praised right now. So all the guys he signed are out of the nfl and most of his draft picks didn't make the roster.. So, Mac should be thankful idzik did such a bad job he has extra cap space? Is that your contention? Would you be comfortable going into this offseason with idzik making decesions?
I'm not talking about the height of the bar, but it should always be the same height - playoffs and championship. I'm talking about the next guy's ability to take a shot at the bar. The attractiveness of what he's stepping into.
I dont think you really take into account the situation he came into. That plays a big part of it. He didint step into a situation with cap room and draft picks. it was quite the opposite. he also inherited quite a few duds and horrible deals. And one of the toughest spots with a QB, who at the time MANY still supported big time, including the coach(the one he didnt want). His drafts were bad, flat out. His willingness to have a down year in order to clear cap and get a high pick is something you seem to throw out though. you view it as "being a bumbler in free agency" i view it as being patient and discipline. Had he traded for marshall and signed carpenter and revis last season what do we finish? 9-7? do we make the playoffs? maybe? would we really be much better off? we have basically the same roster only with a lower draft pick and no shot at mariotta. the difference is you view last year as a catastrophic failure, when I view it as a planned rebuilding year that scored us a #6 pick.
If that was the mission statement for 2014 , both he and rex would still be here. You should have done idzik press confrence, because you just spun it better than anyone else has, idzik included. Well done sir. Lol
1) I wouldnt say all those moves were obvious. trading Revis is tough. And while I'm the biggest sanchez hater out there, there was certainly ALOT of people who wanted to keep him around, including the head coach. 2) Jacoby ford types werent moves to make us contend or made for the future. those were stop gap moves duing a rebuild. The plan was clear, a 3 year rebuild. last year to me went as planned. dont throw away picks in trades, dont overpay anyone mediocure, suck, and get a top 5-10 draft choice. obviously in NY you cant just come out and say "we are gonna suck, but its part of the plan". but clearly from idzik, and woody, last year being a throw away year was the direction. basically.... yes. Do you think Mac would prefer not to have all the cap space and high picks and ability to build the team the way he wants instead of inheriting something that had more of someone elses hands on it (im sure he prefers this to what idzik inheritted). not, as mentioned i don't really like the style and type of players idzik usually has went for. But that really is irrelevant to the point that idzik really cant be fairly evaluated because he didnt get a chance to use the cap room and draft picks that he was patient enough to preserve. do you think he was going to roll 50M in cap into 2019 (hyperbole, of course)? This is the year he was going to start adding players. and this is the year he likely would have looked to address QB. You dont have to like a GM to acknowledge he did some thing that benefitted us.
It's the ultimate red herring thrown out by folks like you looking to protect your hero. Not Luck? Not can't miss. Can't draft them high in the draft. It's ok to like dumb QBs. They just aren't my preference. _
it kind of was.... He was on board with holding off on free agency, and rebuilding. it wasnt until the media started pressuring him that he started talking about being disappointed with a losing season and considered firing rex and idzik
So in esssance you (jay) agree he did a terrible job and you wouldn't be comfortable with him at the helm still.. Like I said a minute ago, you just spun it better than anyone..
Idzik found the Jets job attractive enough as many would have: many people interviewed for it. So, I don't think you make any real sense here: a GM job in the NFL is an attractive job. period. And my point stands: Idzik's failures in part make this job more attractive.
So, you're stating with certainty, without having ever spoken with Johnson, what caused his dissatisfaction?! Balderdash!!
