Jets football blog

Cowher not interested, thanks Brett

The Jets want to talk and Bill Cowher is willing to listen, but that doesn't mean they're in with the Chin.

Even though Cowher has agreed to speak with the Jets about their coaching vacancy, a team source said yesterday, the former Steelers coach has reservations about whether it's the right fit and the right time for him to return to the sideline. Continue

Jets, Bill Cowher agree to discuss coaching vacancy

The Jets are interested in former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, and Cowher is interested in talking with the Jets about their head-coaching vacancy.

The Jets and Cowher have agreed to meet to discuss the job, a team source said. It's unclear when that meeting will take place, though it could be this week.

A potential obstacle in a Jets-Cowher marriage could be the role of GM Mike Tannenbaum. Jets owner Woody Johnson is adamant about splitting the coach and GM jobs, according to a person familiar with his thinking, but Cowher hasn't given the impression in preliminary talks with the Jets that he's looking for total control. Continue

Jets QB Brett Favre won't need major shoulder surgery

As expected, Jets QB Brett Favre will not need major surgery on his injured throwing shoulder, ESPN.com is reporting.

Favre, who complained of arm/shoulder discomfort late in the season, underwent an MRI exam Tuesday that revealed a tear in his biceps tendon, according to ESPN.com. The tear can be repaired by an arthroscopic procedure. With rest, he may not need any surgery even if he returns in 2009.

The Daily News reported Tuesday that Favre had an MRI during the season, and it showed some, but not major damage. It's possible that the injury got worse as the season progressed. It certainly appeared that way based on his late-season slump. Continue

Eric Mangini's end with the Jets began with Brett Favre's arrival

On the surface, Eric Mangini's downfall began five weeks ago, when the Jets started a late-season meltdown with an ugly loss to the Broncos. In reality, it started much earlier, with the blockbuster trade for Brett Favre in August.

Although he publicly supported the acquisition of the future Hall of Fame quarterback, Mangini wasn't the driving force behind the acquisition, according to two people familiar with the team's thinking. Even though he expressed concerns at the time, the people said, Mangini welcomed Favre, adjusted the entire offense and tried to make it work. Continue

Mangenius out, Cowher in?

Thank you Woody. SNY is reporting Jets coach Eric Mangini has been fired. The Jets have called a 10 a.m. press conference with team owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum. Let the Cowher watch or Parcells watch begin.

Jets' collapse ends with loss to Chad, Dolphins

With the December dismemberment of his team officially complete, Woody Johnson wasn't in the mood to make his coach feel more secure about his job.

So he didn't.

The owner, in a brief meeting with reporters after the Jets' 24-17 loss to the Dolphins yesterday at the Meadowlands, refused to say for sure that the coach he hired three years ago, Eric Mangini, will be back for a fourth season.

"We're just going to look at it and make these decisions in a rational way," Johnson said. "It's part of the decision-making process that we have." Continue

Jets still have shot if they can beat Dolphins

This script would make Shakespeare jealous.

Today's Jets-Dolphins game features as much drama as any of The Bard's plays. The Jets (9-6) are in the midst of another December collapse. The Dolphins (10-5) are trying to complete one of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history.

 You have Brett Favre hanging on with a possible bum shoulder, Chad Pennington returning to Giants Stadium for the first time since the Jets cut him loose in August.

Continue

Jets count on Brett Favre's right wing and a prayer

It was supposed to have been an eye-popping demonstration of the difference between Brett Favre and Chad Pennington. In the first quarter of the first game, in Miami, Favre found Jerricho Cotchery for a 56-yard bomb - his first TD pass as a Jet.

Jaws dropped. Jet fans dreamed. Pennington's lack of arm strength would no longer limit the offense. Everyone wondered how many more of these throws would follow.Well ... none.

That completion, which opened the gates for a 20-14 victory, is still the longest of the season for Favre and friends. And while Pennington has dinked and dunked the Dolphins within one satisfying win of clinching the AFC East, Favre's arm has just about fallen off. Continue

Penn' can author end of Mangini era

Attention all of you Jets fans who want Eric Mangini cleaning out his office Monday morning. There's one thing you need to do this Sunday: Cheer for Chad.

That's right. Go to your closet Sunday morning, dig through the sweaters and dress shirts and find that old green jersey with the No. 10 peeling off, throw it on over your sweatshirt and when you get to the Meadowlands root like hell for Chad Pennington.

This may sound like sacrilege. Rooting for Miami in East Rutherford is like the auto workers cheering for Wall Street brokers right now. But if you're truly tired of seeing Mangini's blank, gum-chomping stare on the sideline, the chant this week must be "C-H-A-D - Chad, Chad, Chad." Continue

Jilted Pennington has heart of a champion

Even with a rotator cuff in need of surgery,Chad Pennington would have been 60 minutes from a Super Bowl if Doug Brien hadn't missed that 43-yard field goal in Pittsburgh in that heartbreaking 2004 divisional playoff game.This Sunday is his personal Super Bowl.

I've been around Pennington enough to know how obsessed he was with bringing the Lombardi Trophy to Weeb Ewbank Hall, before the franchise moved operations to Florham Park, N.J., this season. He dreamed of that parade down the Canyon of Heroes. He bled green and white, because that is his nature. He sacrificed NFL life and limb to win a championship for the franchise that gave him his professional start. Continue