NFL

Note to Jets: Seahawks likely open to trading backup QB Flynn

The only thing that might take the Jets longer to find than a new general manager is a new quarterback.

With all the focus on the team finding a general manager and an offensive coordinator, it’s easy to forget the team’s biggest hole is at quarterback and whoever winds up in those jobs will have the challenge of fixing the Jets’ situation under center.

The Seahawks sound as if they are open to dealing Matt Flynn, and he could be an interesting target for the Jets. The Seahawks signed Flynn to a three-year, $26 million deal last year and everyone assumed he would be their starting quarterback after years as Aaron Rodgers’ backup in Green Bay. Then, Russell Wilson won the job over the summer and cemented his place as the future of the franchise with his performance this season.

During his season-ending press conference Monday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll praised Flynn and said they will address his situation this offseason.

“As we move forward, we’re going to figure it out,” Carroll said. “We’re fortunate that we have two really good football players in our program and we’ll figure out what’s best.”

The Jets could get some insight into Flynn’s situation today when they reportedly will interview Seahawks vice president of football administration John Idzik for a second time. Idzik is one of a handful of candidates expected to interview for a second time this week as the Jets try to find the replacement for Mike Tannenbaum.

Flynn is scheduled to make $5.3 million in base salary in 2013 and count $7.25 million against the salary cap. That is going to be too much for the Jets to handle unless they can find someone to take Mark Sanchez off their hands, something highly unlikely. Even if the Jets somehow found a trade partner for Sanchez, his cap number is still going to be high. It would be $8.9 million plus the amount of money the Jets had to pay of his 2013 salary. No team is going to trade for Sanchez unless the Jets eat a significant portion of his $8.25 million salary.

If the Jets cut Sanchez, the cap charge would be at least $12.4 million in 2013 with a post-June 1 designation.

All of that means the Jets already have a large amount of money tied up in the quarterback position. There is also the cost of the trade. The Seahawks are most likely going to get a mid-round draft pick for Flynn. With so many holes to fill, can the Jets realistically trade away draft picks?

There is an idea Carroll might trade Flynn for Sanchez because he coached Sanchez at USC. Forget it. Carroll said Monday that Seattle realizes it needs to find a backup with a similar skill set to Wilson so that if he gets injured it does not need to revamp its offense. Sanchez is not running any zone-read-option plays.

“It’s a good point and we’ve talked a lot about that,” Carroll said. “It would be nice to have another guy who might be able to be a factor in that way. There’s some really good kids out there. We’ll see.”

* The Jets interviewed Stanford offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton yesterday for their coordinator opening, according to a source. The team has interviewed Hamilton, Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and former Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, according to sources.