ALL ABOUT THE OFFENSE
Quinn can win with Jets if he gets right QB
SEATTLE— Dan Quinn has become the hottest coaching prospect in the NFL because of the sustained success of the Seahawks’ defense. But if the Jets really want him to be their next head coach, they had better make sure he can fix the offense and guide the development of whoever is to be the franchise quarterback.
Quinn’s defense is a key reason why the Seahawks won the top seed in the NFC and hosted the Panthers on Saturday night in a division playoff game. The Seahawks (124) were trying to become the first team since the 200304 Patriots to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
When teams have sustained success, their coordinators become the hot prospects with every franchise looking for the nextbestthing. That’s how Rex Ryan finally got his shot with the Jets. After years of orchestrating the Ravens’ defense in Baltimore, headed by Ray Lewis and company, Ryan got his chance to be a head coach.
But after going to backtoback AFC Championship games his first two seasons, Ryan’s undoing wasn’t his defensive genius, but his handling of the quarterback position.
The regression of Mark Sanchez began the decline, and once Sanchez was banished, the frustratingly slow progression of Geno Smith finally claimed Ryan’s job.
There was nothing wrong with the way the Jets played defense. Ryan remains one of the league’s best minds at coming up with a defensive game plan that can stifle an offense. But it doesn’t matter, if his quarterback commits costly turnovers and devastating interceptions.
The Jets love their defensive coaches: Al Groh, Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini and Ryan. Bill Belichick, who gained status as defensive coordinator for the Giants first two Super Bowl teams, was the Jets’ coach for about five seconds. But he understands he would not have won all those Super Bowls in New England without TomBrady as his quarterback.
If Quinn gets the Jets job, you only hope he doesn’t make the same mistake Ryan did by focusing on the defense and virtually ignoring the offense, leaving it for someone else to deal with. The Jets actually had their best success late in the season when Ryan reportedly got into a tiff with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg about running the ball more.
The success of the running game opened up the passing game and suddenly Smith looked like Joe Namath in beating the Dolphins in the regularseason finale.
Ryan always gave the impres
sion he didn’t know much about offense. That’s not logical. The livelihood of a defensive coordinator is dependent on analyzing hours and hours of offensive game film, looking for strengths, weaknesses and areas of vulnerability. They know offensive schemes and how offensive coordinators operate.
If Quinn becomes the Jets’ coach, you hope he has a plan not only for how he wants to build a defense, but also for how he wants to craft an offense. You hope he knows exactly who he wants his offensive coordinator to be and what identity he wants to create. The Seahawks aren’t a bad teamto copy. They have a punishing ground game, an opportunistic passing game and a quarterbackwho is smart and mobile.
Understand this: The first big decision the new Jets coach will make is who will be the quarterback, whether it’s Smith or someone else the Jets draft or bring in.
The defense should be good no matter who the head coach is. There’s plenty of talent along the defensive line and linebacker. The cornerbacks will be healthy next year. But the new coach is going to have to build some stability at the quarterback position. That needs to be a priority. Even for a defensive head coach like Quinn.