Ranking Eric Bieniemy’s potential top head coaching opportunities

2. New York Jets

I wouldn’t be surprised if some people saw the New York Jets this high on the list and laughed. The Jets have been an absolute trainwreck of a franchise for a decade now, and they haven’t made the playoffs since Rex Ryan’s squad made a run at the conference championship in back-to-back seasons.

This team is more well-known today for the “Butt Fumble,” and how that image seems to perfectly encapsulate the emotions of a tortured fan base, than they are for the fact they were the first AFL team to win the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, they are currently an embarrassment. It’s for these reasons they don’t top this list. The truth is, though, there are actually a handful of reasons that the Jets would be an ideal place to get your first head coaching gig.

The draft capital the team has going forward is substantial. With the trajectory of their wins and losses, and the overall product on the field, it’s fairly likely the Jets will have the number one pick in the 2021 draft.

If Eric Bieniemy and his general manager so choose, which he could potentially be guaranteed during negotiations, the Jets could draft the most coveted quarterback prospect in recent memory in Trevor Lawrence.

Add to this the fact the Jets could have up to 11 picks, nearly all optimally placed at or near the beginning of each round, and Bieniemy and his front office would have themselves an exceptional bevy of talent to choose from.

Let’s say Bieniemy instead decides to roll the dice on Sam Darnold. Darnold was a top-five pick himself only a short time ago, making that decision downright logical. Trading the number one pick in this circumstance would garner a king’s ransom, bolstering an already strong draft position into an elite one.

This doesn’t even factor in the fact that the New York area, if the home of a stable franchise, should be a free agent destination. The history of the Jets makes this job seem a little riskier than it really is. In truth, the only reason the Jets don’t top this list is because the team ranked first already has a generational talent at the quarterback position.