Rex Ryan said today in his press conference that we can expect no offensive coordinator change.
Rex said Schottenheimer will absolutely be back. Expects several assistants to be in high demand elsewhere though. #nyj
Let me start out by saying I do not think all criticism of Schottenheimer is justified. I think sometimes people take out frustrations on him over execution issues. Great execution makes any coordinator look great. He can only take so much blame for the games where Mark Sanchez could not hit the broad side of a barn. I think of Cam Cameron. He was an "innovator" in San Diego when he had Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson in his prime, and Antonio Gates. Ask Miami or Baltimore fans about that label.
With that said, we have gone over time after time where Schotty's thought process left much to be desired. There is the constant and needless motion and shifting that led to a critical penalty. There was going to Brad Smith on a big third and fifteen. There was the deep out he called against Miami with Sanchez struggling. I could go on. He reminds me a lot of Eric Mangini. He's a young guy who knows a lot. He has great flashes. He just was not ready for the job at such a young age because he cannot at times differentiate between what looks good on a chalk board and what will work. He tries to cute too much. He gave assignments too difficult to his young quarterback. I could go on.
In light on this, you might be surprised to hear that I support this move. It has nothing to do with continuity for Sanchez. I think people look at this as a cause of success too much while I view it as an effect. When you know you have something geniunely good, it is a good idea to stick with something even when it hits rough patches. When something is inconsistent, it is often a good idea to make a change. Giving a young quarterback a new playbook every year is a bad thing, but I think Sanchez would be best served with a better coordinator.
Why do I support the move then? It is because of the unclear labor situation. If a lockout drags near the season, players might first be working with their coaches a few weeks before the season starts. There will be no offseason programs. It would be next to impossible to implement a new offense. Even if they went with a familiar face like Bill Callahan, they would have trouble implementing Callahan's new wrinkles.
It's probably best to hope Sanchez has a big year in 2011, and Schottenheimer finds a head coaching job as a result.
I just hope Woody Johnson opens his wallet to keep Callahan in case he's one of the coaches in "high demand."