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One important thing to note when the Jets make their decision about the future of the general manager is how little is left inherited from Mike Tannenbaum.
The Jets currently have 61 players listed on either their active roster or injured reserve. Less than one-third of those players was originally brought to the team by Tannenbaum.
| 39 | Allen, Antonio |
| 54 | Bellore, Nick |
| 38 | Conner, John |
| 98 | Coples, Quinton |
| 85 | Cumberland, Jeff |
| 56 | Davis, Demario |
| 93 | Ellis, Kenrick |
| 60 | Ferguson, D'Brickashaw |
| 2 | Folk, Nick |
| 94 | Harrison, Damon |
| 37 | Jarrett, Jaiquawn |
| 11 | Kerley, Jeremy |
| 74 | Mangold, Nick |
| 97 | Pace, Calvin |
| 29 | Powell, Bilal |
| 46 | Purdum, Tanner |
| 5 | Simms, Matt |
| 30 | Walls, Darrin |
| 96 | Wilkerson, Muhammad |
| 20 | Wilson, Kyle |
This is being generous counting John Conner as one of those players. Tannenbaum did draft Conner, but he also let the fullback go two years ago. Idzik brought him back.
This is important because it stands to reason that as the roster becomes more and more filled with Idzik players, there should be a clear upward trajectory.
The Jets do not need to be a Super Bowl contender right now. There should, however, be tangible signs of progress. We haven't seen that. If anything, we have seen a backslide.
Also note some of the Tannenbaum leftovers. They include stars like Nick Mangold and Muhammad Wilkerson, role players like Demario Davis and Jeremy Kerley, and functional starters like D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. To at least some extent these guys are lifting the performance of the team. Good inherited players are like found money for a general manager. It shows perhaps how underwhelming the player acquisitions have been that the team has been in bad shape despite some of these contributions.
One of the arguments I keep hearing is how Idzik brought in Sheldon Richardson, Chris Ivory, Eric Decker, and Jace Amaro. This is solid evidence against the argument Idzik has never, ever made a good move. This is not evidence against the argument Idzik has done an overwhelmingly poor job. You can name a few good moves, but you cannot ignore the poor performance of a team that was over two-thirds picked by the current GM. The entire body of work is not good.
Should the Jets be contending for a championship two years into a new general manager tenure? That would be a lot to ask. After two full Draft classes and one of the biggest piggy banks of cap space in the league entering free agency, should the Jets be appreciably ahead of where they were in 2012? I find it tough to argue against that idea. Is their failure to improve stunning enough to make the team lack faith the current regime can turn things around? That's for the ownership to decide. I know where I stand.