The New York Jets have their top target in sight.
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY revealed that Mike Vrabel is “atop the Jets wishlist” this offseason to fill their head coaching vacancy.
“The name that is kind of here and the rest of the pack from my understanding it is Mike Vrabel. I know the Jets have already put out their feelers to gauge interest if Vrabel would be interested in the Jets, if there is anything there. Would he want the job? Would he take the job or anything like that. He is somebody from my understanding is atop the Jets’ wishlist,” Hughes said.
Jets Might Be Willing to Do Whatever It Takes to Land Vrabel
“Multiple NFL sources believe [that Vrabel] is the coach the Jets covet the most,” Hughes said.
The green and white won’t be the only NFL team that holds Vrabel in high regard regarding their head coaching search.
“My sense is Mike Vrabel is high on the list of the three teams with head coach openings now, and will probably be the most sought after candidate in January. What’ll be interesting to see is who’ll be willing to let him set a program up his own way—which could mean bringing ex-Tennessee exec (and current Giants exec) Ryan Cowden with him as general manager and perhaps Browns tight ends coach Tommy Rees as OC (though Josh McDaniels might be a possibility to come with him to certain locales, too),” Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated said.
That might require some creativity and flexibility from the Jets to lure Vrabel away from some of the other attractive jobs in the NFL.
“It would not surprise me at all if the Jets actually went to Vrabel and one of the things to try and get him to be their head coach was they said look we’ll hire you and then we’ll keep you involved in our search for the general manager,” Hughes added.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini said on his “Flight Deck Podcast” that sources close to Vrabel said he’d be “open” to the job depending on who they hire as the general manager. Well if he was involved in who the GM ended up being, I’d imagine that’d be pretty attractive to Vrabel.
Currently, the Jets are the only team with a general manager vacancy in the NFL.
Jets Interview Ex-Titans GM for Vacant Role
Gang Green announced on social media on Tuesday, December 17 that they have “completed” their interview with former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson.
There is a direct connection between Robinson and Vrabel. Robinson was the Titans’ GM from 2016 through 2022. He was with Vrabel for his final four seasons.
Robinson never had a losing season while the GM for the Titans:
- 2016: 9-7
- 2017: 9-7
- 2018: 9-7
- 2019: 9-7
- 2020: 11-5
- 2021: 12-5
- 2022: 7-5
When the Titans fired him on December 6 2022 Tennessee had a 7-5 record.
“With Robinson at general manager, the Titans compiled a 66-43 record, captured two AFC South crowns and made four postseason trips. During his tenure, Robinson drafted several future impact players including RB Derrick Henry (R2, No. 45 in 2016), T Jack Conklin (R1, No. 8 in 2016), S Kevin Byard (R3, No. 64 in 2016), TE Jonnu Smith (R3, No. 100 in 2017) and OLB Harold Landry (R2, No. 41 in 2018),” according to the Jets press release.
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