Tiki & Tierney wished Joe Benigno a Happy New Year as they welcomed him for their first Football Monday of 2023…and in true Joe fashion, he replied by saying, “How could I be doing good? I’m disgusted with everything!”
Of course, that’s the Jets’ fault, as their fifth straight loss Sunday eliminated them from playoff contention and guaranteed a team that started 6-3 will finish under .500.
And in what will turn out to be the first of multiple post-mortems for the Jets, the problem, in Joe’s eyes, isn’t Mike white’s injury or the QB situation – it’s Robert Saleh?
“Mike White is what he is, he was terrible but he was hurt…but this is on the head coach,” Joe said. “This team hasn’t shown up two weeks in a row and lost five straight, on the verge of a six game collapse – this is all on him. Watching him, and watching the body language…he looks defeated! You hear him talking about how this is “just another game” and he’s not talking about fighting for the playoffs? That’s a disgrace!”
Tiki chimed in to agree with Joe, noting it’s cliché to say a team takes on the personality of its head coach, but indeed, the Jets seem to have gone into a funk to match Saleh’s demeanor – and BT even agreed, saying he only sees Saleh get fired up when things go right, and the Jets look like “a 2-13 team playing out the string.”
“Terrible, and I don’t think there’s any question about it, it’s all about the coach here,” Joe said. “I think he’s much too nice a guy, and I don’t think there’s enough accountability for these guys. I thought that last year too, but this year, he said after the Ravens game he was taking receipts, and then said ‘we’ll see Buffalo again’ – where is that now? It’s gone!”
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And now, Joe says, ownership has taken notice…and it may be time for another change?
“You hear different things, but I hear that Woody Johnson is very ticked off. So if I’m Woody, you know what I do? I hate the fact it’s the revolving door of coaches, but I’d be on the phone to Sean Payton asking what it would take to come here,” Joe said. “He’s under contract so it might cost draft picks, and I hate giving up No. 1 picks, but if you tell me we can get Payton here, I’m in.”
Everyone seemed to agree that at the least, the Jets need a new offensive coordinator, but BT’s fear is that Johnson proposes that to Saleh, the head coach refuses, and Woody fires Saleh instead, and then there’s no Sean Payton to be had.
Joe, however, had a couple outside the box solutions.
“Here’s the guy if you can’t get Payton and all that happens – actually I’ll give you two names: one is Brian Flores if he’s not blackballed, and you might think I’m out of my mind, but the other is Rex Ryan,” Joe said.
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“You get Rex back with a major chip on his shoulder…he’s one of the best coaches we ever had, and we’d immediately have an identity again,” Joe said. “What is our identity now - that we stink? If you get rid of Saleh, you cannot give me the next hot coordinator, and Rex is lobbying to coach the team on TV.”
Joe’s take is that Ryan was doomed when Johnson fired GM Mike Tannenbaum and replaced him with John Idzik, example number infinity of how a front office change never bodes well for an incumbent coach on a hot seat.
The guys had some questions about how long Rex has been out of the game, but that’s no worry to Joe, who thinks Rex could quickly fix the overrated defense.
“This defense isn’t even late, they give it up right away. You knew after the first play yesterday the game was over!” Joe said. “But I think this is a guy with something to prove now. He’s dying to coach again, and he would walk here to coach the team again. And remember, Dick Vermeil was out a long time and came back and won a Super Bowl with the Rams.”
Regardless of what happens, though, Joe just wants one thing: playoffs or bust, and an end to the revolving door at head coach.
“When does it end with these coaches? When do we finally get the guy?” Joe asked. “And I’ll throw out one more thing: if Saleh is the coach next year, he has to get me to the playoffs or he’s gone – and I need to hear the owner say that and put the pressure on him right now.”
Follow WFAN's midday team on Twitter: @TikiandTierney, @TikiBarber, @BrandonTierney, and @TheHoffWFAN
Follow Joe Benigno on Twitter: @JoeBenigno_Real
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