Will Jets GM Darren Mougey’s QB background help solve NY’s issue at the position?​on February 2, 2025 at 12:43 pm

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:

1. The great QB search: The Jets have entrusted a former quarterback with the job of finding of their post-Aaron Rodgers quarterback.

We’re talking about general manager Darren Mougey, 39, who learned the position from his late father (a former Southern Illinois QB), became a three-star recruit in Scottsdale, Arizona, and played quarterback for two seasons at San Diego State. In high school, he trained one summer with former NFL star Donovan McNabb, who called him “Sunshine” because of his blond hair — a reference to the quarterback in the movie “Remember the Titans.”

Whether it’s this offseason or next, Mougey is expected to address the team’s long-term quarterback issue. His predecessor, Joe Douglas, faced the same challenge, as did his predecessor and the guy before him and … well, you get the point about the Jets’ QB history. None of their previous GMs fixed the problem, one of the main reasons they haven’t reached the Super Bowl since the 1968 season.

“Obviously, it’s important,” said Mougey, who backed up current Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell at San Diego State before switching to wide receiver. “We’re going to have a lot of dialogue and conversation about the quarterback position, and we’ll explore and exhaust every option.”

His positional expertise should help, but there are no guarantees in the business of player acquisition. Mougey knows this all too well. He came from an organization that struck out for years in trying to find a successor to Peyton Manning, who retired after leading the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl in the 2015 season. Mougey was a scout at the time.

By 2020, he had been promoted to the front office. From 2016 to 2022, the Broncos failed with high draft picks (Paxton Lynch and Drew Lock), bad trades (Russell Wilson and Joe Flacco) and a bad free agent signing (Case Keenum). It’s no wonder they had an eight-year postseason drought.

They also passed on Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft. He was right under Mougey’s nose. Allen came out of Wyoming that year and Mougey was the Western regional scout. Of course, that decision — along with the others — belonged to then-GM John Elway, one of the best quarterbacks to ever play.

An inexact science, indeed.

They finally found what looks like will be a promising answer in 2024 first-round pick Bo Nix, handpicked by coach Sean Payton.

“We’ve kind of done it every way — trade for a guy, draft a guy, draft another guy,” Mougey said of his Denver years. “I learned a lot. I learned a lot that I’m going to take with me to this situation here.”

2. Is Rodgers a scheme fit? The addition of offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand adds to the uncertainty of a Rodgers return.

Presumably, Engstrand will install a Detroit Lions-like system, considering he spent phe last three years as the passing game coordinator in Ben Johnson’s prolific offense. It’s different from what Rodgers did last season.

The Lions ran a league-high 39% of their plays from under center, while the Jets ran 15% (15th), per NFL Next Gen Stats. Rodgers was comfortable in shotgun because it put less stress on his surgically repaired Achilles and other leg injuries that came up throughout the season.

Also, no team used play-action more than the Lions (37%), significantly more than the Jets at 23% (17th).

Perhaps the bigger question is this: Does Rodgers, at this stage of his career, want to learn a new system taught by a first-time playcaller? The last time he had to do it was 2019, Matt LaFleur’s first year with the Green Bay Packers — and that turned controversial when Rodgers complained about not having the freedom to audible at the line of scrimmage. Eventually, LaFleur relented.

Clearly, coach Aaron Glenn wants to recreate the Lions’ offense, considering his two most important hires came from Detroit — Engstrand and offensive line coach Steve Heiden. Motown is coming to Jersey, whether Rodgers likes it or not.

3. Overhaul: The only coordinator or position coach from the previous staff to survive the change is wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. In fact, the Jets blocked other teams from trying to poach Jefferson, SNY reported. Jefferson has a good relationship with Garrett Wilson and has a link to Glenn. Like Glenn, he played for Bill Parcells.

Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, stripped of the playcalling duties last season, was removed from the team’s official website as soon as Engstrand was hired. He was Rodgers’ closest confidant in the organization — perhaps another sign they’re preparing to move on from him.

4. Did you know? Glenn’s hiring is the 10th instance in the past 10 years of a team being coached by one its former players, per ESPN Research. Two of them coached their team to a Super Bowl title — Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles) and Gary Kubiak (Broncos).

5. Pleasing the alums: The hiring was a popular move among former Jets players from different eras. For years, some of them complained privately that the organization wasn’t offering employment opportunities for alums. Now one of their own is leading the franchise.

6. Just blitz, baby: Glenn, 52, found a likeminded coach in defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, known for his no-nonsense approach. Schematically, they have common ground in that they both like to blitz — a lot.

In three of his previous coaching stops, Wilks’ defense always ranked among the blitz leaders. In fact, the 2017 Carolina Panthers and the 2018 Arizona Cardinals were No. 1 in blitz rate, per Next Gen Stats. His most recent stop, the 2023 San Francisco 49ers, was the exception — 30th in blitz rate. Wilks adapted to fit the 49ers template. It didn’t click, as he was fired after one year. One difference between Wilks and Glenn: Statistically, Wilks prefers zone coverage over man-to-man, which was Glenn’s bread and butter as the Lions’ defensive coordinator.

Wilks will call the defensive plays for the Jets.

7. Lofty praise: Special teams coordinator Chris Banjo received a glowing recommendation from Mike Westhoff, the former Jets special teams coordinator who coached Banjo as a player with the New Orleans Saints and worked alongside him as a coach in Denver.

“He made the transition from player to coach better than anyone I’ve been associated with,” said Westhoff, who spoke highly of Banjo, 34, in conversations with Glenn.

In case you’re wondering, Westhoff, 77, said he’s not interested in coaching anymore, but he’s open to observing for a couple of days in minicamp and training camp.

8. They go way back: A player knows he’s been around a long time when he’s reunited with a former teammate who happens to be a coordinator now. That’s the case with Rodgers and Banjo. They were teammates for three-plus years in Green Bay (2013-2016), where Banjo’s special teams prowess enabled him to make the team as an undrafted free agent.

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9. Odd couple? The Glenn-Mougey pairing is unconventional in two respects: The coach was hired before the GM. They had no prior working experience together.

They’re also first timers.

Since 2015, there have been 13 instances of a team hiring a first-time coach and a first-time GM in the same offseason, including the 2015 Jets (Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan). Seven of those pairings still are active:

Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills; Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry, Cleveland Browns; Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, New York Giants; Dave Canales and Dan Morgan, Carolina Panthers; Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, Lions; Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Odofo-Mensah, Vikings; and Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, 49ers.

Five of these pairings never had worked together before, most notably those from the Browns, Lions, Vikings and 49ers — all of whom have multiple playoff appearances under their current regime. Like the Jets, the Browns and 49ers hired the coach first.

So, yes, the formula can succeed. It’s just not common.

10. The last word: “[Glenn] has an advanced degree in Bill Parcells football.” — former Jets and University of Virginia coach Al Groh, who’s mentored Glenn in recent years.