ESPN.com reports the Jets will not give Bill Cowher what he wants and that Cowher will not interview to become Jets head coach as a result.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who rejected a chance to become head coach of the Browns last weekend, is not going to interview for the head coaching position of the New York Jets, according to multiple sources.
Cowher, according to a source, has been contacted by the Jets. Although he is interested in the Jets job, he told the team he would not be a candidate because he would like to bring in his own personnel director. Jets owner Woody Johnson plans to keep Mike Tannenbaum as his general manager after firing Eric Mangini as head coach Monday.
With Tannenbaum as the general manager, Cowher is willing to pass on the Jets opportunity, stay in broadcasting for another year and wait to return to coaching in 2010.
Mike Tannenbaum has been an enormous asset for this team. He has shown a good eye for talent, particularly in the Draft. He has also handled the salary cap magnificently, turning perhaps the worst cap situation in the league when he took over into a situation where the Jets had space to go on a shopping spree in his second and third offseasons.
With that said, this is a bad decision by Woody Johnson. He essentially said he prefers Tannenbaum running the franchise instead of Cowher. Comparing the respective track records of the pair is no contest. Cowher has a ring and was an integral piece of the league's most stable franchise. If he wanted a guy from that well-run organization instead of Tannenbaum, it was foolish to not oblige. This was not a clear cut choice of Cowher or Tannenbaum. Mike could have been kicked upstairs and still had input. The decision was whose voice would be heard the loudest. The only way to land Cowher was to make sure it was his.
The good news is that there are still plenty of great candidates out there. The Jets may end up with somebody good. It just will not be the top man on the market.