It is one thing to make a bad decision because of a misjudgment. It is quite another to make bad decisions as part of a display that one had no coherent philosophy. The offseason has not yet begun in earnest, but Mike Tannenbaum's handling of the quarterback position displays a number of disturbing inconsistencies that call into question not his philosophy but whether he has one.
There is no need to rehash the story of Brian Schottenheimer or his departure. We can skip ahead to the time after he left. The Jets had a young quarterback in whom they had invested quite a bit. It was evident to anybody who watched him that this quarterback was very raw and would need a lot of work to develop into a franchise quarterback. The Jets needed to fill their coordinator position. Did they hire an experienced quarterback groomer? No, they brought in a former offensive line coach, Tony Sparano, a man with no experience directly overseeing quarterbacks or a team's passing game. He had extensive experience working developing offensive linemen and building quality run games.
This made enough sense even if one disagreed with the philosophy. The Jets were admittedly moving to an offense built around the power run game. They were going to be like the Ravens and the 49ers and simplify what they would ask of their quarterback. The quarterback would be less of a premium player.
What does Tannenbaum do then? He makes the quarterback one of the highest paid at his position in the league. Under normal circumstances, this would have to be considered something of a disconnect. If the Jets did not want quarterback to be a premium position, why tie up so many resources there? It gets even more bizarre from there, though.
Tannenbaum was already on record saying his quarterback did not progress as much as hoped in 2011. Why reward the quarterback then? Why reinforce bad behavior? Why make the at lquarterback feel comfortable if he did not improve as much? He cannot blame the coaching. The offensive coordinator might be gone, but the position coach directly responsible for his development is still employed by the team. Most likely both coach and player should shoulder some of the blame, but nobody is being held accountable. Both have been rewarded.
It is difficult to see any sort of consistent rationale behind the moves the Jets are making, and that can only undermine any faith people have in Zeke right now.