The Jets begin their offseason program next week, their first under new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano after a tumultuous final season under Brian Schottenheimer.
Schottenheimer, who spent six seasons in charge of the Jets’ offense, has since moved on to the Rams, and Jets tight end Dustin Keller thinks both sides will benefit from the change.
“I think it’s a good thing for everybody,” Keller said last night at an event at a NFL pop-up store in Midtown. “Anytime things go bad, people want to come down on the quarterback and the coordinator. For [Schottenheimer] to move on to the Rams is probably a good change for him, [to] get a fresh, clean slate.
“Same thing with Mark [Sanchez], just getting a new coordinator. I think it’s gonna be good for all of us, but we wish him the best of luck.”
In past years, the Jets have convened “Jets West” each summer, with receivers meeting with quarterback Mark Sanchez in California. The Jets put a twist on that this week, however, with Sanchez, wide receiver Patrick Turner and Keller meeting for workouts with Santonio Holmes in Orlando.
Keller was pleased with the work he and his teammates got in this week, but it doesn’t mean that Jets West will be going away.
“Sometime in late June, maybe July, we’ll get another Jets West in,” Keller said with a smile, before adding, “We’ll hit the whole country before it’s all said and done.”