The Jets began negotiating a contract extension with quarterback Mark Sanchez last year at the NFL Scouting Combine. Not quite a year later, the man behind that negotiation sounds like he would like a do-over.
Ex-Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum expressed some regret over the deal yesterday on NFL Network after watching Sanchez bomb in 2012.
“I don’t think I would have signed a quarterback to an extension knowing that he would have 26 turnovers,” Tannenbaum said. “That may be one of the reasons I’m sitting here.”
It is a strange comment considering Sanchez had 26 turnovers in the 2011 season as well as last season. Tannenbaum likely would argue that Sanchez also had 32 touchdowns (six rushing) in 2011, but it still was clear after that season that Sanchez was not the franchise quarterback the Jets were hoping for.
Tannenbaum explained his rationale behind giving Sanchez the five-year, $58.25-million deal that was finalized last March.
“Here’s a guy that beat Tom Brady in a road playoff game, beat Peyton Manning, so these are not hopes, these are not projections — these are real wins in the NFL,” Tannenbaum said. “He was a young guy, football is important to him and we came up with a deal at the time that we thought was good for both sides.
“Obviously he didn’t play as well this year, we didn’t coach as well this year, we didn’t get him as good of players this year. But if we’re sitting here a year or two from now, I still think Mark is going to be a good, credible quarterback in the NFL.”
The Jets fired Tannenbaum after seven years as general manager just hours after the 6-10 season ended. He surfaced a few weeks ago, doing several interviews. He is working with a TV agent in hopes of landing a possible job as an analyst. Tannenbaum spent the day at NFL Network yesterday, where he is under consideration for a full-time job, according to a source.
Tannenbaum also talked about the other quarterback that led to his demise — Tim Tebow. He said he believes Tebow will not give up trying to be an NFL starter.
“This is a guy who was successful in high school, won championships in college, and he’s the type of person that he’s either going to be successful as a pro quarterback or die trying,” he said. “He’s highly competitive.”
Speaking of Tebow, former Jets quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh, who now has the same job with the Bears, spoke with reporters in Chicago yesterday. He was asked about Tebow.
“To be fair to Tim [Tebow], we didn’t use it [the Wildcat package] enough to let him be productive in it,” Cavanaugh said, according to ESPN.