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This is just the kind of guy they needed. While time will tell how it works out, but on paper, this guys seems perfect.
I’m talking about John Morton the New York Jets’ new offensive coordinator.
Look, I know that Jon Gruden can often be too Pollyanna in his television analysis, but I think what he told the Jets website about Morton is legit and important.
When Gruden was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Morton worked with the team’s wide receivers.
“He is a guy who would beat you to work every day and he would stay later than you would stay,” Gruden told newyorkjets.com. “I don’t think there’s any other reason than John Morton that Sean Payton made up these sleep rooms. He had to have a room for Johnny Morton to get a wink.”
Nobody would outwork Morton.
“All he did was study protections, route combinations, coverage beaters and individual drills to help his receivers get better,” said Gruden of Morton. “He helped me tremendously, self-scouting the opponents, coming up with new formations to run the same play from. Creative mind, he took advantage of some great people that were not only on the Raiders staff but in New Orleans, San Francisco. He’s prepared himself well.”
The Jets needed a grinder offensive coordinator and they got one.
The Jets offensive coordinator of the last two year, Chan Gailey, had a nice career, but it’s hard to imagine he was putting in the 14-16 hour days last year. That is what Morton is known for – opening the training complex and closing it. Gailey was 64 last season and told Todd Bowles he was going to retire after the season. As former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy once said, “Once you announce you are going to retire, you are already retired.”
Gailey was a terrific coach, but at times the Jets offense seemed a little predictable last year. It was almost like Gailey was set in his ways, set in his playbook, set in his play-calling patterns.
Morton’s playbook is going to be a confluence of Jon Gruden, Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh – three of the top offensive minds around.
Who knows who the Jets’ quarterback is going to be. That remains to be seen. A few options here – trading for the Cincinnati Bengals A.J. McCarron or the Philadelphia Eagles Chase Daniel or they could sign Mike Glennon (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Brian Hoyer (Chicago Bears) or Case Keenum (Los Angeles Rams).
We will see where this ends up, but whoever they get, they aren’t going to have Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.
So that is why it’s so darn important to get a grinder offensive coordinator, who is going to sleep in the office, to come up with the mother of all game plans every week, with an nonpareil work ethic.
So Morton is the right guy at the right time.
He’s paid his dues, is ready, and will not be outworked.
February 14, 2017
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