Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson making a throw during an NFL game.
The cat is now out of the bag.
Rich Cimini of ESPN released a deep-dive article on Wednesday, February 8 exploring why Zach Wilson’s career hasn’t taken off for the New York Jets like so many were expecting.
In that column, he provided a juicy behind-the-scenes nugget that elicited a profane response:
“[Mike LaFleur], along with Rex Hogan, were in 2021 draft meetings selling the narrative that there was a legit argument Wilson was better than [No. 1 overall pick] Trevor Lawrence,” one source said via ESPN. “[Some of us], we’re like, ‘What the f—?!’ It’s one thing to like a player; it’s another to pump a prospect up higher than he actually is.”
Wow: former #Jets OC Mike LaFleur & assistant GM Rex Hogan argued that Zach Wilson was better than Trevor Lawrence during pre-draft meetings in response several people in the room said, ‘what the f***?!’ 😳 📸 Rich Cimini of ESPN #TakeFlight #DUUUVAL
Mike LaFleur Seemingly Flipped on Zach Wilson Very Quickly
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic released a deep dive article of his own on January 19 and it revealed some inside nuggets about the Wilson-LaFleur relationship.
LaFleur felt “constrained” by Wilson’s limitations from a playcalling perspective. He told other people how much more effective his offense looked with other quarterbacks running his offense like Mike White, Josh Johnson, and Joe Flacco.
The relationship between Wilson and LaFleur began to “sour” as the 2022 season progressed, per Rosenblatt.
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young expanded on that during a radio appearance on The Michael Kay Show.
He called the relationship “broken” and questioned how LaFleur was handling Wilson behind the scenes.
.@SteveYoungQB described the relationship between #Jets OC Mike LaFleur and QB Zach Wilson as ‘broken’ + if the team decides to move on from LaFleur he likes the idea of replacing him w/ recently fired #Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury: 🎙 @TMKSESPN #TakeFlight #BirdCityFootball
It’s crazy that in the months leading up to the 2021 NFL draft LaFleur was making the argument that Wilson was the best quarterback in that class even over Trevor Lawrence.
Then less than a year and a half later he was so frustrated by him that he was excited at the thought of a different quarterback being available to run the offense.
Life comes at you pretty fast.
Top Social Media Reactions to New Zach Wilson, Jets Leak
Back on January 19, Jets analyst Joe Caporoso predicted that it will be a “leaky offseason” at Florham Park. He quote tweeted the new Wilson-LaFleur story as a prime example.
Some Jets fans are ready to “bash” their head into a wall after seeing this come out.
LaFleur wasn’t the only one making this argument. Assistant general manager Rex Hogan was apparently with him on this Wilson is better than Lawrence train. If that’s true some fans are ready to throw Hogan out the door.
LaFleur ended up landing on his feet after leaving the Jets as the new offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. LA fans were originally feeling optimistic about the hire but some are “liking” it less and less every day.
Some say after this backpedaling by LaFleur that he “deserved to get fired.”
Analyst Mario Puig thinks this new information sounds like general manager Joe Douglas “trying to wash his hands of a decision that was his alone.”
Some aren’t buying what they’re reading. A Twitter user called this absolutely horses*** and believes the Jets are “scapegoating” LaFleur who has already been fired.
If this is true one Twitter user said he would have “loved to be a fly on the wall” when members of the Jets brass were arguing Wilson over Lawrence.