Joe Benigno’s stance on Mike LaFleur is pretty straightforward.
“He could go now,” the longtime WFAN host said Tuesday on Tiki & Tierney.
LaFleur, the New York Jets offensive coordinator, has come under fire for his play-calling. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson isn’t a pocket passer, and coupled with subpar offensive line play and you have a signal-caller who seldom stands in the pocket.
The Jets lost Breece Hall for the season last week, but traded for James Robinson and have another capable back in Michael Carter. But they rushed just 15 times while letting Wilson throw 41 times in Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots.
Benigno has seen enough, tearing into LaFleur – with his brother, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, catching a few strays along the way – in his weekly spot on T&T.
“Him and his brother are two of the most overrated coaches – his brother is a terrible head coach," Benigno said. "His brother won 13 games three years in a row, and then when they get to the big games he can’t win, and he’s had Aaron Rodgers. Now he’s got no team, now his team stinks, and he’s on his way to a six- or seven-win year. When is (Aaron) Rodgers going to decide to fire him like he did to (Mike) McCarthy? Everybody kills McCarthy, McCarthy won a Super Bowl with Rodgers. I didn’t see this with LaFleur.
"And (Mike LaFleur), and this is a problem because (Robert) Saleh is buddy-buddy with the family. He was Matt LaFleur’s best man, the other way around. Mike LaFleur, he stinks. Give me Brian Schottenheimer. I’ll take Brian Schottenheimer -- I’ll take Paul Hackett over this guy. I’ll tell you one thing, he wouldn’t be chucking the ball all over the place like this guy is doing. He’d be running the football, Hackett, you know he would.”
To be fair, Paul Hackett had a future Hall of Fame running back in Curtis Martin during his run in New York. So, if we’re comparing Hackett to LaFleur, that’s probably worth keeping in mind.
Either way, the Jets need to figure out what to do with Wilson if they want a real shot at a postseason spot because, clearly, throwing it dozens of times isn't working.
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