2013 Offseason Thread (Update: Kellen Winslow Signs)

[zilby]

Sunday will be the last day of the Jets' 2012 season. It also will likely be the last day that Mike Tannenbaum will be the team's general manager.

As first reported on Sunday, according to a league source, Tannenbaum will be relieved of his duties as team owner Woody Johnson searches for a replacement.

One potential scenario is that Tannenbaum will be reassigned to another role within the organization.

Tannenbaum, who joined the Jets in 1997 as director of player contract negotiations, was elevated to general manager in 2006, replacing Terry Bradway who has remained with the team as a senior personnel executive.

The Jets are 6-9 going into the final game of the season. They have reached the playoffs in only three of Tannenbaum's seasons as general manager: 2006 wildcard game, 2009 AFC Championship and the 2010 AFC Championship.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/nfl-r ... job-monday

15 years of Tanny. Who do you think is a likely replacement as the GM?

[zilby]

With Tannenbaum out, and Sanchez/Tebow very likely on the way out, what changes need to be made? Which players should the Jets be pursuing this offseason?

We can also use this thread to discuss the playoffs if any of you guys are going to be watching.

I'll update this thread later tonight with our draft position once it's confirmed.

[zilby]

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson's unhappiness in a disappointing 2012 season is expected to be reflected in the moves he is planning to make.

According to sources, the Jets do not plan to bring back offensive coordinator Tony Sparano (the Jets are ranked 30th in total offense in Sparano's first season in the role) and Johnson has been putting out feelers for ideas to determine the ideal structure of his front office.

Some league sources believe coach Rex Ryan, who will return, would be best served working again with general manager Mike Tannenbaum, which they believe would provide Johnson the type of stability he respects in other organizations led by such owners as the Maras and Rooneys.

Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine's contract is up and longtime special teams coach Mike Westhoff is retiring.

Tannenbaum, 43, kept his job in 2008 when coach Eric Mangini was fired after the 2008 season and he subsequently hired Ryan. The Jets are 34-30 in Ryan's four seasons but have missed the postseason each of the past two years.

The Jets were doomed by their unsettled quarterback position in 2012. Mark Sanchez struggled all season and ultimately was removed from the starting spot for Greg McElroy in Week 16, although he started the finale after McElroy was ruled out with a concussion. And Tim Tebow didn't have much of an impact after he was acquired in a trade with the Broncos as New York's Wildcat package was ineffective and the team wasn't sure how to use him in other packages.

Ryan and Tannenbaum's four-season run includes two conference championship game appearances and only one losing season -- the type of success that usually leads to other chances.

But in New York, everything is under scrutiny and up for debate.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_ ... no-sources

[moocow007]

Offseason wish list:

1. Some sucker to take Sanchez in a trade.
2. If no sucker found, cheapest way to get him off the team.
3. This Draft is going to be huge. Whomever is ultimately in charge of it must hit a homerun (oh who am i kidding...its got to be a grand slam).
4. A competent QB, even if it's a veteran QB.
5. An offensive coordinator that actually understands the letters O-F-F-E-N-S-E

As far as the draft goes? Where do we pick? 12? 11? (We should have gone into tank mode when Revis went out)

QB in the 1st round doesn't make any sense IMO. Geno Smith is no RG3 and Matt Barkley may turn out to be Mark Sanchez all over again.

As much as the offensive line has been crap I'm not sure that that's where they need to go in the first round.

Even though they have no shot in getting Star Loutulelei or Jarvis Jones, I think they still need to focus on a DE or OLB. Barkevious Mingo is a popular name but some believe that Dion Jordan (a 6'7" edge rusher that projects as a OLB or DE depending on package) has the potential of being the next great thing. Whomever they take, needs to be an impact player, a future stud...not just an ok contributor.

Jets needs? LOL pretty much every position but CB.

OL, DE, OLB, RB, WR and obviously QB could all stand upgrades.

[moocow007]

If the Jets are thinking about drafting a QB I would go with someone like Tyler Bray out of Tennessee in the 2nd or 3rd round. He's a big (6'5") strong armed QB that has a ton of upside and potential that, even if he can't come out of the gate immediately as a starter can project to be a top QB down the road (some comparing him to Jay Cutler). Better that than waisting a 1st round pick on Smith or Barkley.

[Shark]

We have so many needs for this upcoming offseason... Think we might address a couple of holes via trade? Looking at the FA market for next year it doesn't seem like there are any great names out there at some of those positions.

[Rich Rane]

I'm actually surprised Rex Ryan is still with the team. I expected him and Tannenbaum to be fired.

I think we all have to accept the fact Sanchez will be on the team next season. I highly doubt anyone wants him, especially with last season's extension.

[Rich Rane]

As far as the draft goes? Where do we pick? 12? 11? (We should have gone into tank mode when Revis went out)

9th overall
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-mock-draft/ ... raft-order

[zilby]

Thanks for merging my threads, Rich. Would've done the same, but since I lack the modly powers

As for why Rex is still here, I don't think Woody feels it's his fault. Anyone with eyes can see that the season's disasters entirely lied on Sanchez, and Rex did all he could in managing his QB's, and since we now know that nobody had any belief in Tebow Time, he went with McElroy.

That said, if the Jets continue to be bad next season, you'd have a lot more incentive to fire him.

And yeah, there's no MNF, so our draft slot is 9th.

EDIT - Jets have reportedly requested an interview with Tom Gamble, San Francisco's director of player personnel.

EDIT 2 - The Jets have two Pro Bowlers this year, LaRon Landry at SS, and Antonio Cromartie at CB.

[TNBT]

What's the deal with the Pro Bowl? I thought Landry AND Cromartie were both selected?

[TNBT]

Speaking of the off-season, I'm hoping to get some ideas of what fellow Jets fans hope to see. I have a few items on my wish-list, and I know that I probably wont get all of them, but a man can dream. Firstly, I would love to find a taker for Sanchez. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of the Sanchez haters -- quite the opposite actually. While Sanchez has made mistakes, the fact that he has had such poor pass protection and has an anemic WR group has to be taken into consideration as well. Personally, with a better supporting cast, I think Sanchez could and would be a far better QB. However, I think it has gone on so long now that short of being Peyton-esque next season, a lot of Jets fans will still find it hard to believe in Sanchez no matter how much he improves. With that in mind, I think we would benefit from a different QB (along with those improvements I mentioned at WR and on the line), and I think getting a fresh start in a market without the intense NY media scrutiny would be a great opportunity for Sanchez. If we can move him, then Alex Smith from San Francisco would be my first choice. I know he was benched, but if you look at the numbers, he still throws for touchdowns at a much higher rate than he throws interceptions, and that is about the biggest thing we were missing from the QB position in 2012.

Of course, as I mentioned, very few QB's would have succeeded with us in 2012 with the O-line and WR core that we had. That's why I'd love to see us go out and get a guy like Victor Cruz. The guy is a legit #1 WR and along with Holmes, Hill, Kerley and a depth guy or two, he would really lift the quality of or receivers.

In the draft (especially if we can fix QB and WR with Smith and Cruz), I'd then love to see us go with an O-line guy and a OLB in the first two rounds, in no particular order. We really need to bring back Moore and maybe Slauson, and adding one of the best O-linemen like Chance Warmack or Jake Matthews would go a long way towards retooling the line. If we go with defense in the first, then we can have a shot at landing a really dangerous pass-rusher like Jarvis Jones, Damontre Moore or Barkevious Mingo. We should then pick up the best remaining guy at the opposite need to what we drafted in the first round.

[moocow007]

As far as the draft goes? Where do we pick? 12? 11? (We should have gone into tank mode when Revis went out)

9th overall
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-mock-draft/ ... raft-order

Oh that's even better.

Maybe a trade up for Lotulelei? Or maybe if someone they don't need or feel great about falls to 9, possibly trading down a bit and grabbing multiple picks? Any team have multiple 1st round picks lower than 9?

[moocow007]

Regarding Sanchez...

Whether they trade him (obviously unlikely) or not I don't think he'll be on the team next season. At this point I think the Jets to need to accept that Sanchez is done for as a Jet. So having him squat on the bench as a no.2 (if they don't draft a QB in the first few rounds and just brings in a veteran QB that can start) or no.3 QB (if they both draft a QB early and brings in a vet QB that can star) really doesn't make sense.

Right now, just about anyone would be better than Sanchez...especially in NY. Alex Smith better. Even a 33 year old Michael Vick would be better IMO.

Regarding Tannenbaum...

It was time. He's flubbed with most of his moves (picks, trades, signings) for years now. If they can get that guy from the Niners that would be terrific. Whomever they get will have an uphill battle to build this team back up as it's really hurting for talent, consistency and productivity overall.

And there you have the two biggest question marks for this team heading into the offseason and the two spots that will be make or break for them next season and beyond.

[j4remi]

Honestly, I don't think we're finding any takers for Sanchez. I think the best strategy going forward might be to rebuild our O-Line and try to get a legit starting running back. Make a REAL effort for ground and pound to come back so that we can mask our weak QB position (Mcelroy isn't awful but he's also not good). Continue to develop the young receiving corps and hope Santonio can come back and be effective. Have we re-signed Keller yet? I probably wouldn't keep him...dude is injury prone and not a great blocker at all (I doubt many would agree with me on this though).

On D...I want to improve LB's across the board (Harris is the exception). I think the line is coming around and our secondary should be solid and even better if Revis is good to go...I'm also guessing that Landry is gone, so we need to replace him.

[Grover]

Keeping Ryan likely dictates a patsy GM who will have to buy in to another patchwork draft and this will likely cost several continued years of stink. I think everybody should be available for the cap space and too numerous holes to fill. I would propose allowing all unrestricted free agents to walk while trading down or even out of the first round to garner as many picks as possible and focus on the offensive line with several early picks. Sanchez is a $12M+ dead money cap hit and going nowhere. For this team to have a chance at success they will have to run excessively and control the clock. Sorry defense but Pouha's back and a couple of old free agent tackles are going to dictate your relative success. The linebacking corp will require Harris to return to form, a huge leap by Davis and a couple of aging vets to help cover the young kids who are not yet ready to contribute regularly or ever. Hell, the talent pool even sucks on special teams. Laron Landry was a huge surprise as he stayed healthy but he was signed as a result of Sanchez being extended. Tannenbaum has operated like Congress with overspending and kicking the can down the road with overpayed aging players and they stink because they cannot make changes. Cap wise I question the management group's intellectual capacity and they are not even good at talent evaluation. It's OK to suck if your team is young but it is time to break it down and keeping Ryan will likely keep the team from doing so.

[TNBT]

I agree that we have plenty of holes to fill, but one thing I don't get is why Landry is being considered as gone by some posters here? I wasn't even aware he was a FA this off-season, and even so, after the year he had, I'd be shocked if we didn't do pretty much whatever we had to to bring him back.

[Shark]

Yeah, you've got to resign Landry. I'll be shocked if he isn't.

[zilby]

No wonder Rex wanted to start him over Tebow in Week 17

[j4remi]

I agree that we have plenty of holes to fill, but one thing I don't get is why Landry is being considered as gone by some posters here? I wasn't even aware he was a FA this off-season, and even so, after the year he had, I'd be shocked if we didn't do pretty much whatever we had to to bring him back.

Look at the cap situation then read his comments about being an FA...it's not promising.

[moocow007]

Was listening to Boomer & Carton the other day and Carton made some real good points. Said that what they should do is fire Ryan (basically clean house) and throw a boatload of money at Bill Cowher to run the team. Said that they will have an extremely difficult time attracting any qualified offensive coordinator or free agent with a lame duck headcoach. Said that doing this will also greatly help their PSLs which are going into the **** right now.