JC Deep Dive: Coaching candidates from college

On Nov. 27, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer caught the attention of Jets fans when he mentioned Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald as a possible candidate for Gang Green, if they make a coaching change.

This motivated JC to do a deep dive into potential college coaches the Jets could hire if GM Joe Douglas, who obviously should lead the search, chooses to go that route. Here are some potential options:

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

This headline caught our attention a couple of days before the second Jets-Dolphins game: “Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald a candidate to replace Adam Gase.”

That headline was from an aggregation site called “Redzone.org,” which does a nice job of linking to NFL stories around the league.

The Redzone story was based on a “mailbag” by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, which ran a headline:

“Mailbag: Is Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald on the Jets’ Head Coach Short List?”

This led to sports websites all over to write stories connecting Fitzgerald to the Jets.

But if you read Breer’s comments closely, all he did was answer a fan’s question about if the Jets would be interested in Fitzgerald.

“It wouldn’t surprise me for a second,” Breer responded. “Jets general manager Joe Douglas is mobbed up with college football connections from years on the road, and Fitzgerald is one of the most universally respected names at that level of the sport.”

So while “Bert” is a very good NFL reporter, all he was doing was answering a question, so not sure if there are any teeth to the rumor.

But with that being said, Fitzgerald is exactly the kind of coach the Jets need — a culture builder, a leader of men, a man who commands the room.

“I can also say there’s a widespread belief that his brand of program-building would work in the NFL,” Breer wrote.