Four years ago, when the Jets hired Rex Ryan as head coach, he vowed they would win the Super Bowl and visit President Obama in the White House.
That hasn’t happened yet, but another coach the Jets secretly interviewed at that time, Jim Harbaugh, may get that chance.
Harbaugh was head coach at Stanford when the Jets were looking for a new coach in 2009. When Jets brass flew to Arizona to interview Russ Grimm of the Cardinals, they secretly also flew to California to meet with Harbaugh. Shortly after the interview, Harbaugh took himself out of the running and was quoted on the Stanford website as saying: “In response to persistent reports speculating my interest in other coaching positions, I would like to unequivocally state that I am 100 percent committed to Stanford and I look forward to leading this football program for years to come.”
After dismissing himself from the opening, Harbaugh returned to Stanford posting a 20-6 record over two seasons, including a win in the 2011 Orange Bowl. That’s when his stock really rose, and he hasn’t disappointed. The 49ers, who are 24-7-1 since he became coach, have made back-to-back NFC Championship Games after not being in the playoff since 2002. They advanced to the Super Bowl after a 28-24 win over the Falcons. Harbaugh will square off against his older brother, John, who is the coach of the AFC champion Ravens.
As for the Jets, who opted for Ryan, they have gone in the opposite direction. Ryan’s last two seasons have left fans calling for his firing as the Jets have failed to make the playoffs, while Harbaugh has been one of the more successful coaches in the league since then.
Ryan did make the AFC Championship Game in his first years as coach, but his win total has regressed each of the past two seasons, as the Jets were 8-8 in 2011, and 6-10 this season.