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Todd Monken. Who is this guy?
People always ask why did Todd Monken leave the head coaching job at Southern Mississippi after three years to become an offensive coordinator?
After taking over for a coach who led them to an 0-12 seasons, he rebuilt the program, and in the third year he led them to a 9-5 record and bowl game, but then bolted to become an offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Well, Southern Miss is a good job, not a great one. It’s a stepping stone job. Larry Fedora used it as a stepping stone to get a better job, and ended up at North Carolina (he was just fired).
And while Monken didn’t get a head coaching job when he left Southern Miss, he wanted to get back to the NFL. He was a Jacksonville assistant for three years before going to Hattiesburg.
When Dirk Koetter got the Tampa Bay job, he wanted Monken very badly for his staff, and the Buccaneers payed Monken really well.
An NFL offensive coordinator job pays better than Southern Miss.
So don’t hold this decision against Monken. Sometimes in life, you need to make tough decisions that other people will consider head-scratchers.
While the decision to leave a college head coaching job, to become an NFL offensive coordinator, might seem odd to some, it wasn’t to Monken. He thought it was the best move for his career at the time.
“This has probably been the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in my career,” Monken said upon leaving Southern Miss. “This is a special place. There’s an unbelievable cooperative spirit here, as good as anywhere I’ve ever been. (My family and I) weren’t looking to leave but a unique opportunity came our way. So you’ve got two great places and I can’t be in two places at once. That’s the easiest way to put it.”
And it shows you he’s not afraid to make tough decisions that might make some uncomfortable.
Don’t the Jets need a guy like that?
In doing my research every week to preview games for my Saturday show on SiriusXM NFL Radio, I like to go over the rankings for every team.
And during the second half of the year, Tampa Bay was number one in passing offense, week after week and with two different quarterbacks starting. This wasn’t a great Tampa Bay team, but man, what a passing offense! They ended up finishing the regular season as the NFL’s #1 passing offense.
This Monken guy is a very intriguing candidate for the Jets. Top offensive mind, and the kind of guy who isn’t afraid to call players out. I will never forget this quote from last May about Tampa Bay’s high-priced, underachieving wide receiver Desean Jackson. This is a gem.
“We don’t have any old street cred that we’re paying you for,” Monken said. “No. We need you to be a great player now. That’s why we gave you the money. Jackson came here because of the money. Don’t give me all that bull about you came here because of the weather and Jameis. No. You came here because we paid you the most. You need to play like that. And he gets that. He’s smart enough to understand that.”
When was the last time you heard a quote like this from a Jets coach or personnel guy.
Enough of the “Good-Ship Lollipop!”
It’s time for some cages to be rattled.
I’ve said it a many times, the Jets need to hire somebody who has been a head coach before, and it’s not restricted to just the NFL.
It just had to be a guy who has done the job, so they don’t walk into One Jets Drive starting from square one as a head coach.
The three years Monken spent at Southern Miss fits this criteria as far as I’m concerned. You combine that with NFL assistant experience with Jacksonville and Tampa Bay, and his no-nonsense approach, this guy is ready to be an NFL head coach.
Monken should be in the mix for the Jets’ head coaching job. No question about it.
January 2, 2019
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