When the dust settled after Eric Mangini’s firing Monday the first question was: Who do the Jets go after? Well four days later we’ve been through a bunch of names but the Jets seem intent on taking their time to select the right candidate.
If you listened to Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum on Monday they repeatedly said the search would be, “thorough.” Translation: If it ain’t Bill Cowher, it’s going to be a while.
They’re starting the interviews today with Bill Callahan and Brian Schottenheimer, the next phase will be the hot assistants from the league – Steve Spagnuolo and Rex Ryan. That’s what is set right now. But the next step likely is to talk to Mike Shanahan if he’s interested and possibly Marty Schottenheimer.
They also have to interview a minority candidate. The top minority assistants in the league are the Vikings’ Leslie Frazier, the Chargers’ Ron Rivera’ and the Colts’ Ron Meeks.
So this could stretch on for a few weeks. And that’s the right call. As much as we’d like to know who the next coach is going to be quickly, the team has to make sure it has the right fit. As a point of reference, Mangini was hired on Jan. 17, 2006. This could be a long, bumpy ride.