Brett Favre

By JEFF CAPELLINI, WCBSTV.com Senior Sports Producer
NEW YORK (CBS) ― While I would love nothing more than to jump into the WCBS-KYW trash-talk fest and add my $.02 on why I think the Giants will wipe the floor with the Eagles this weekend out at the Meadowlands, I have instead been banished by management to the green and white dungeon. No playoffs for you, Jets fans, but we do have a lot to talk about regarding their search for their next head coach.

When last we left this sorry excuse for an NFL franchise, the Jets had just learned that Bill Cowher was flattered to hear they wanted to have a shotgun wedding and a relationship for the next decade. Cowher said no, of course, renewed his vows with CBS and even told Utopian Denver he wasn't interested.

The Jets had also just learned that Brett Favre has a torn shoulder tendon and that his teammates, i.e. one Thomas Jones, thought the future Hall of Famer should have been benched during part, if not all, of his final five-game swoon, one that made him look more like Browning Nagle than the immortal he's supposed to have been.

And through no fault of their own, something that's rarely the case, the Jets managed to get a coach fired. Boston College kicked Jeff Jagodzinski to the curb because he really doesn't want to be a college coach and somehow thought getting a job with the Jets would be a lot better than … say … being loved, respected and winning with young men.

Since then, the Jets have interviewed – or plan to interview -- 1,657 candidates, including Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, in-house employees Brian Schottenheimer and Bill Callahan, Arizona's Russ Grimm, Indianapolis defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, Rod Blagojevich, Caroline Kennedy and Mickey Rourke.

The team's future wish list includes sitting down with former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan.

Last week I said the smart move may be hiring Spagnuolo and, while I still like everything Spagnuolo offers, I'm starting to think that Ryan is the man the Jets need for no other reason than the attitude he brings.

Ryan is a mean sort, a nasty players' coach who has maintained the tradition of defensive excellence in Baltimore. He's a no-nonsense guy, even more so than Cowher. He just hasn't gotten a chance to show it yet as a head coach.

If the Jets truly plan on being a smash-mouth team, running the football and playing choking defense, Ryan may be the best overall choice, even better than Spagnuolo because Ryan brings that attitude Jets fans have never seen from their coach.

Ryan will hate the Patriots, Dolphins and Bills. He will blitz with reckless abandon. He will teach these guys how to actually tackle. The Jets will win games – with Favre or without him – 13-3 and like it. He'll right the sinking ship that is first-round bust Vernon Gholston.

I'm not saying Spagnuolo or Shanahan wouldn't be good fits as well. Of course they would be. But Ryan brings that nasty intangible called intimidation with him. He'll scare the fans, too, which I'm all for considering we've been living in horror watching the on-field product for the better part of four decades. Why not get a drill sergeant-type in here and have him drive everyone crazy while in the process getting the most out of every player?

The one thing that's working in the Jets' favor is there are only three head coaching vacancies across the league and about a million candidates. The Jets are bound to get someone good, right?

Cleveland did the Jets a favor by hiring Eric Mangini. The Browns took a guy not up for the Jets job off the market, shrinking the number of teams that need a coach.

I would hope the Jets job is more attractive than the Lions' gig. If not, then it's time to back up the truck.

Ultimately, the Jets and Broncos should be the ones fighting for the best remaining candidates. Shanahan is obviously out of the picture in Denver, but that doesn't mean he'd come to the Jets. That said, I'm sure the Jets will wait to speak to him, as they should.

That's the alarming part of this whole process. The Jets got Spagnuolo in for an interview last Saturday but probably will not decide on a coach for another three weeks. They are rolling the dice by letting interviewed candidates sit around. Maybe another team swoops in, but, then again, when that other team could be the Lions I can understand why Woody Johnson is showing due diligence in the search process.

Right now, I am the biggest Tennessee fan on Earth, only because I want the Titans to beat the Ravens 3-2 this weekend so Ryan saves face. Then he can be interviewed, the Jets can hire him and we can all sit back and watch a really intense guy take on the challenge of kicking into shape a team of slackers and underachievers.

If the gods like us, which they rarely do, maybe the Ravens will lose on the same day Shanahan decides he wants to interview and we can kill two birds with one stone.

And, knowing our luck, the Jets will somehow fumble on those plays and then get stuck pursuing Plan C.

Martyball.

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

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