Getting the keys
Jets to promote Bates to offensive coordinator
The Jets did not look far to find their new offensive coordinator.
The team is expected to promote quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, according to ESPN. Nothing was off icial yet, but Bates has been a strong candidate to replace John Morton for weeks. The team fired Morton after one season on the job.
Bates will be the Jets’ sixth offensive coordinator in the past eight seasons and the third in the last four since Todd Bowles has been the head coach. He takes over a group that finished 28th in total offense in 2017 and has plenty of holes to f ill — starting at quarterback.
Incumbent Josh McCown is a free agent and is contemplating whether he wants to keep playing at 38 years old.
Even if McCown does want to return, the Jets may go in another direction in search of a long-term answer at the position. Kirk Cousins is the biggest name expected to be available in free agency, and the team could take a quarterback high in April’s draft.
Bates, 41, joined the Jets last year and impressed Bowles and others in the organization. Many people felt he was a key part of the weekly game plan. He had been out of football for four seasons before taking the job with the Jets. His only previous coordinator experience came in 2010 with the Seahawks. He was f ired after one season by Pete Carroll after Se- attle finished 28th in total offense.
A source said the Jets are considering hiring a run-game coordinator to pair with Bates. One of the biggest knocks on Morton was he strayed away from the run game too much.
It is not known whether the Jets interviewed other candidates. Former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley was viewed as an option. He reportedly is join- ing the Browns as their new coordinator. Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo also was thought of as a strong candidate, but the Jets would not have been able to interview him until after the Super Bowl.
Bates got his start under Jon Gruden with the Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl there in 2002. He also worked under Mike Shanahan with the Broncos, helping quarterback Jay Cutler to his only Pro Bowl season.
He spent the 2005 season with the Jets and also coached at USC and with the Bears in 2012. He then took a four-year hiatus before joining Bowles’ staff last year.
McCown, Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg all spoke highly of Bates last year.
“That dude’s been awesome,” Petty said at the end of the season. “He’s a hell of a coach, a really good coach and kind of been monumental really in my experience from just Year 2 to Year 3 growth. I felt like I’ve learned more the last six months than I have my whole life, and that’s a direct contribution to him with what he’s done, so I’m excited to know what I’ve learned from him, excited to work with him more. It’s fun when you know you’re going to learn football every day.”