Getty A group of New England Patriots coaches on the sideline during an NFL game.
The New York Jets could go to a bitter rival to fill their latest coaching vacancy.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, New England Patriots tight end coach Nick Caley has emerged as a “strong candidate” for the Jets offensive coordinator role.
Rapoport also mentioned Philadelphia Eagles quarterback coach Brian Johnson and former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady as other names to watch.
Jets Could Steal From the Patriots Coaching Pantry
Nick Caley isn’t a name a lot of people have heard of.
The 39-year-old has been quietly working behind the scenes with the Patriots for the last seven-plus years. He originally joined New England back in 2015 as an offensive assistant.
Slowly but surely he has been ascending up the Patriots coaching ladder being promoted to tight ends coach and fullbacks coach.
Prior to his NFL arrival in 2015, Caley had a decade run at the college football level serving in a variety of roles at seven different institutions.
Earlier this week NFL Insider Dan Graziano of ESPN listed Caley as a “name to watch” for the Houston Texans offensive coordinator gig depending on who was hired as the new head coach.
When Josh McDaniels left the Patriots to take the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders, New England blocked him from taking Caley with him.
The Patriots will be hiring a new offensive coordinator and plan to start the interview process next week the team announced in a statement. There is a belief that Caley will be considered for that role, but other strong candidates “appear more likely” to land the gig, per Justin Leger of Yahoo Sports.
The Jets Have a Plan if They Go Young Again
When head coach Robert Saleh was initially hired they decided to go young with the Mike LaFleur hire.
He was a coach in his early 30s that had never called plays before but had been around a lot of really smart football people. That plan didn’t work with LaFleur parting ways with the team earlier this week.
If the Jets decided to go young again, they seem to have a better plan for how to handle it.
According to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, he would expect the team to “pair an experienced offensive line coach to help with the game-planning side of things.”
One name he mentioned was Bill Callahan as someone who comes to mind as a logical fit.
Callahan is universally considered THE offensive line guru in the NFL. He has over 42 years of coaching experience from the college ranks to the pros.
One of those stints included a run with the Jets from 2008 through 2011. It isn’t a coincidence that also coincided with some of the best runs in team history with a 37-27 overall record and two trips to the AFC Championship game.
If the Jets had a chance to get him back on this coaching staff in any capacity that would be widely accepted not only by the organization but also by the fan base.
Currently, Callahan is serving as the Cleveland Browns’ offensive line coach. He has been there since 2020.