Brett Favre

By JEFF CAPELLINI, WCBSTV.com Senior Sports Producer
NEW YORK (CBS) ― Now that Bill Cowher has deemed the Jets unworthy, this bumbling franchise is at yet another crossroad.

The pressure to get a proven winner or can't-miss hot-shot assistant in here is enormous. The Jets fan base is perennially left with its nose pushed up against the glass while other teams have found success either getting the coach they want or making the most out of the coach they have.

The Jets never seem to do this.

Ever.

Even when they have had a great coach he hasn't stuck around long enough to finish the job. Bill Parcells took the Jets to within one solid half of football of getting to the Super Bowl back in 1998. But after Denver recovered one of its own kickoffs and John Elway got his bearings, the Jets were once again prevented from getting to pro football's biggest stage.

Since Parcells flew the coop, the Jets have trotted in one mistake after another. Remember Al Groh, Parcells' hand-picked successor? That guy went 10-6 in 2000 and then disappeared to the greener pastures of the University of Virginia, his alma mater. He clearly wasn't cut out for New York.

Then there was Herman Edwards, who for five seasons mismanaged clocks and coached so conservatively he almost took both to an art form. Sure, Edwards made the playoffs twice, but you knew the Jets were never really serious about getting to the Super Bowl. He went 39-41 during the regular season, including losing 15 of his last 20 games. He also went 2-3 in the playoffs, sort of a minor miracle as far as the Jets go.

Eric Mangini, for all of his faults, still has a tremendous amount of upside. He'll just have to show it somewhere else because soft-spoken clean-cut guys never win in New York, unless, of course, you're talking about Derek Jeter. But what exactly has he done in the last eight years?

The sexy choice now that Cowher is out of the picture is former Denver coach Mike Shanahan. But seriously folks, do the Jets really want to throw all their eggs into his basket? He just finished a three-year stretch 24-24, including blowing the last three games and the AFC West title this season.

That's not to say Shanahan isn't a great coach. Of course he is. But he's more of an offensive guru. The Jets, by contrast, are built around a power running game and want to have a smash-mouth defense.

Forget the quarterback for a second. Even if Brett Favre does come back in 2009, there are no guarantees we'll ever see the great Brett Favre. We might not even see the often bad one we saw in 2008.

A lot is made of the quarterback position, and rightfully so, but if you want to win with the run and defense, your quarterback doesn't necessarily have to be an NFL legend. He can be serviceable. He can be someone like a Trent Dilfer. Obviously, that line of thinking is likely to anger the vast majority of fans, but it's true.

If Cowher was indeed turned off by the idea of possibly having Favre back, as the New York Post reported on Wednesday, then he wasn't the right man for the job. If Favre comes back, the Jets will still be better off than with any other available QB. And who that player might be is about as difficult to figure out as who the Jets will actually hire as coach.

Though the fans desperately want a Cowher type, the smart move may be hiring Steve Spagnuolo. What he has done with the Giants defense has been downright amazing. Sure, the Giants have talent all over the place, but Spagnuolo's schemes and game-planning are beyond reproach. Here's a guy who is fully prepared each and every Sunday and his players know exactly what needs to be done, regardless of the opponent.

Spagnuolo, 49, has a home in New Jersey and is clearly looking for the right fit. He could have had the Washington job after last season but chose instead to stick with the Giants. He was confident his stock would only go up in 2008, a high-stakes wager he's about to clean up on.

Naturally, there are going to be concerns about Spagnuolo's experience. He may be a defensive genius, but does that mean he'll be able to put the type of staff in place that will allow the other aspects of the game to flourish without his interference? Will he find an imaginative offensive coordinator who can run the football but use enough play-action to keep defenses honest? Will special teams coach Mike Westhoff stick around? Will he have smart people up in the booth to watch for replays to challenge? Things like that.

Of course, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Jets CEO Woody Johnson will have to make sure he gets his man. Spagnuolo is going to make a fortune as a rookie head coach somewhere because the list of available coaches with serious experience is lacking. So, if you have to shell out a lot of money for a risk, it better be the right risk. If the Jets determine that Spagnuolo is truly the best option out there, then pay him. Don't lose him to a team like Detroit over $500,000 or a few extra years.

There are other names out there. Suddenly, Minnesota assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is a hot commodity. Maybe the buzz around him is worth it. Maybe Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is the next coming of Rex Ryan in Baltimore. Perhaps Josh McDaniels will bring his brilliant offensive mind to New York, though it's hard to imagine Bill Belichick standing pat as another of his prize coordinators bolts for the hated green and white.

Regardless, the Jets need to go after whoever they perceive as their guy and go after him hard.

Because the last thing we all need is them boxed into a corner and being forced to hire Marty Schottenheimer. That's not to say Schottenheimer isn't a very good NFL coach. It's just that his playoff resume is dreadful despite owning the unique distinction of getting three different franchises into a position to play meaningful January football.

Schottenheimer would be up against it from the second he signs a contract. The fans and the media would be merciless. Everyone would be waiting for him to make mistakes. Losses would be magnified 10-fold. And God help him if he guided the Jets to a great regular season record and then lost early in the playoffs. He'd be vilified and the team would regress even further than it already has.

Woody, talk to Spags on Saturday. Block out the sexy notion of Shanahan for now. If Steve with the Boston accent impresses you, go get him.

This way we can all sit back and fear the worst, while we wish for the best.

As usual.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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