Jets to begin interviewing candidates for head coach and GM openings starting this week

The searches for the next head coach and general manager of the New York Jets will begin in earnest this week, sources tell CBS Sports. The Jets plan to begin interviewing candidates for both jobs starting this week, with the understanding that official hirings for either job won’t take place for more than a month from now.

The target of these December interviews will be GM and head coach candidates who are not currently employed by NFL teams. Due to NFL rules, the Jets can’t interview candidates who have roles with NFL teams until the conclusion of the regular season. Sources say the candidates interviewing soon are likely to have previously held head coach or GM roles.

Jets owner Woody Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 after a 2-3 start, and the Jets have gone 1-7 since. Johnson fired GM Joe Douglas on Nov. 19. But the search for their replacements didn’t begin until the Jets hired The 33rd Team to consult in late November.

Former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman are helming that process, which will aid the Jets decision-makers in identifying and vetting candidates, as well as conducting some preliminary interviews.

NFL rules mandate those taking part in the interviews must complete inclusive hiring training. Sources say that should be completed by early in the week for the Jets, and then they can start the interview process.

Johnson will be the final decision-maker, and it’s expected that Christopher Johnson and team president Hymie Elhai will also be part of the group deciding who leads the Jets into the new era.

The team owner since 2000, Johnson is considered one of the most involved team owners in the league. He took greater control of football operations as the season went along, most notably in trading for Davante Adams and ultimately getting Haason Reddick back in the building.

Johnson previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom during the first Donald Trump administration. But the president-elect opted for banker Warren Stephens for that post in his second administration, and the belief within the Jets building is that Johnson will not have an official role with Trump this time around.

Johnson has not been an active, on-the-ground member of a Jets search committee since 2015. He was across the pond for the Saleh and Douglas hires, so getting some early reps at what a search looks like today will be helpful for Johnson.

Sources believe the Jets have an interest in targeting a general manager who can handle an owner like Johnson. A person with previous GM experience — like those expected to be interviewed beginning this week — or a first-timer with the proper traits will be valued.

Though the Jets jobs may have their warts — they have the longest playoff drought in major North American men’s sports — there aren’t many of them opening. There may not even be three GM jobs open this cycle, and the head coach vacancies could be closer to six than the previously considered high-end of eight.

The Jets also have some good young talent, and there’s no expectation of an edict from Johnson on whether to keep or discard Aaron Rodgers. League sources have found it difficult to believe the Jets will retain Rodgers for the 2025 season, which would allow for the new regime to start fresh at the most important position in sports.

At least, that’s the way the job is viewed by some around the league, including former Jets head coach Rex Ryan. He even made his pitch last month to be interviewed for the post he once held.

“I look at it this way, blow it up? We’re going to blow the opponents up. There’s way too much talent on this team to play the way we’ve been playing. Period,” Ryan said. “And how hard can you get a guy to play? That’s the thing. Nobody has seen a team going to play as hard as this team is going to play in the future, trust me, if I’m the guy. Trust me. And that’s going to be it. That’s what’s going to separate me from all these other guys you’re going to bring in. Your [Jon] Grudens your whoever, whatever. Give me a break. They ain’t New York Jets. I’m all about the Jets.”

Ryan isn’t the only former Jets coach who has shown some interest in the gig. Bill Belichick, the Jets head coach for one day in 2000, called the Jets to gauge their interest in potentially bringing him back into the fold, a source confirmed to CBS Sports. It’s unclear how genuine Belichick’s call was — his disdain for Johnson is legendary, and it’s known he was working up leverage around the league before deciding on Chapel Hill — but he was told the Jets were just starting their search. That’s as far as the call went.

Coaching candidates who are employed by NFL teams can begin interviewing two days after the conclusion of the regular season, depending upon whether their team is in the playoffs. Some of the candidates who could be considered for the Jets include: Former Jets player and current Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, former Titans head coach and current Browns consultant Mike Vrabel, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

A similar timeline applies to GM candidates. Former GMs like Dave Ziegler and John Dorsey are with the Saints and Lions, respectively. Dawn Aponte, the NFL’s Chiefs Football Administrative Officer, worked for the Jets and Dolphins alongside both Tannenbaum and Spielman.

Spielman served as a consultant for the Commanders during their searches last year. Washington chose Adam Peters for its GM role, and Spielman also conducted interviews with Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi, Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Browns assistant GM Glenn Cook and Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby.