Jets Coaching Candidate of the Day: John DeFilippo

With Todd Bowles likely on the way out at the end of the season, we are going to take a look at some of the potential candidates to replace him. Whenever we do something like this, there are some typical criticisms that always pop up like, “Why profile this guy? He stinks!” and “He won’t be interested.” We aren’t just profiling the good candidates or suggesting these people are all likely to take the job. We are simply looking at people the Jets could reasonably expected to call.

Today’s candidate: John DeFilippo

Category: NFL Assistant

Current Job: Minnesota Vikings Offensive Coordinator

Years of NFL Coaching Experience: 12

Head Coaching Experience: None

Ties to Jets: Former Assistant Quarterbacks Coach (2009); Todd Bowles twice considered him for vacant Jets offensive coordinator job

Pros:

• Considered a hot, young offensive mind.
• As Eagles quarterbacks coach was part of the braintrust that oversaw Carson Wentz’s breakout season and worked around Nick Foles’ limitations to win the Super Bowl.
• Open to new ideas. He’s talked openly about how much he learned about no huddle attacks from working with Doug Pederson and Frank Reich in Philadelphia.
• Learned aggressive philosophies in Philadelphia.
• Has kept Minnesota’s offense reasonably productive despite dealing with a number of injuries and personnel issues this season.
• Brief stints on Jets and Giants coaching staffs, which at least provided a taste of what this market is like.

Cons:

• No head coaching experience.
• Not much about his resume looks special aside from the last two years.

The Bottom Line:

DeFilippo has become one of the hot young coaches in the league, and it is earned based on his recent work. Anybody who was part of the Eagles offensive brain trust last year deserves a long look, and I don’t think DeFilippo has hurt himself with Minnesota this season.

It shows how quickly things can change in the NFL. I remember being underwhelmed when he was a reported candidate to become Jets offensive coordinator in 2015. His record seemed so mediocre at the time. Now I can’t help but wonder how Todd Bowles’ tenure might have been different had this been his hire. Or perhaps DeFilippo’s career would have suffered.

How an assistant adjusts to running the show for the first time is always an unknown. Sometimes the hot coordinator turns into a great head coach. Sometimes the top job is too big for him. Either way, I think DeFilippo has earned his shot. A lot of people yearn for a young coach who will bring new offensive ideas to the Jets. He checks those boxes.

In fact if I had to take an educated guess right now, I’d probably put my money on DeFilippo eventually getting the job. The Jets can give him a blue chip pupil to mold, and he could be the mentor the Jets want for Sam Darnold. There would be a lot of logic to this hire.