The New York Jets are trudging through their season from hell. Once again, what exactly the future holds for this franchise is unclear. The Jets can't seem to nail down a sustainable plan for winning games. This roster has talent, but the QB position is a revolving door of disappointment and the Jets haven't nailed a coaching hire in... a while. A really long while.
Robert Saleh was understandably fired midseason, but things haven't turned around under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich. The expectation is that New York will go a different direction in the offseason, which is fitting considering the wave of change that is expected to hit the franchise.
Owner Woody Johnson clearly has no intention of bringing back Aaron Rodgers. The Jets will start anew in 2025 with a QB to be named later, trying (probably in vain) to wash out the bad taste of this season. We can expect the Jets to target several splashy head coaching candidates, but the latest name connected to the New York job feels like a disaster in waiting.
According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, former Atlanta Falcons head coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith is considered a "dark horse candidate" for the Jets gig.
Arthur Smith named 'dark horse' for Jets head coaching job
To his credit, Smith has the Steelers offense operating at a much higher level than it did under his predecessor, Matt Canada. That isn't exactly the highest bar, though, and offense is not the driving force behind Pittsburgh's success this season. Russell Wilson is having a renaissance season of sorts, with the Steelers ranked 14th in yards per game, but Pittsburgh's mode of offense is not what the Jets should aspire to.
George Pickens has enjoyed the Russ-Smith experience, but the Steelers offense generally follows the same arc as Smith's Falcons teams. He spreads the wealth, often to a fault. Smith can engineer an effective scheme, as this season proves, but he does not believe in propping up star playmakers. He loves to keep every offensive gadget involved, embracing a by-committee approach that drove Falcons fans mad for years.
Bijan Robinson averaged 12.6 rush attempts per game as a rookie compared to 16.1 this season. Drake London averaged 6.9 targets per game last season compared to 8.8 this season. Those are not insignificant differences. Atlanta's stars have been far more prominently involved under Zac Robinson, often with positive results.
We can quibble over whether or not Smith and his scheme would help the Jets — talk about low bars — but one has to imagine Garrett Wilson would prefer a different play-caller. New York going away from its most explosive weapons in favor of a more holistic approach does not inspire much enthusiasm, and we know Wilson is rather confident in his own ability. As he should be.
Wide receivers are dramatic by nature. All our best locker room beefs and social media blowups stem from that position. The idea of Wilson posting through it when Xavier Gipson ends up with seven targets to his five in a 13-10 loss is fun for those of us without rooting interest in the Jets. It's less fun for those involved.