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The search for the New York Jets’ next head coach rolls on.
ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano decided to skip all the way to the end and predict who he believes will land the job.
One of the six open head coach positions in the NFL is in New York. The Jets are casting a wide net having interviewed a double digit amount of candidates to this point.
For Graziano, thinks Arthur Smith will be the winner of the Jets job in the end.
Smith, 42, was previously the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 to 2023. The Falcons finished 7-10 all three season he was in charge.
For those curious, Aaron Glenn is predicted to be hired by the New Orleans Saints. Glenn, a former Jets player and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, is a fan favorite for the job.
Graziano’s full breakdown on Smith to New York can be found below:
I could certainly see the Jets ending up with Aaron Glenn or Brian Flores, but I’ve already predicted those guys to land elsewhere. Smith was a candidate of interest to Jets owner Woody Johnson back in 2021, when the team hired Saleh. But at the time, Johnson was serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom and was not directly involved in the search. The Jets also considered bringing in Smith and adding him to their offensive staff last year before the Steelers hired him as their coordinator.
In the past, Johnson has been known to lock in a bit on his personal favorites. Remember, he lost out to the Dolphins on Adam Gase in 2016, then hired Gase three years later after the Dolphins fired him.
The Jets’ search is sprawling. They’re also interviewing GM candidates, and they’re asking them about potential head coaches. (They are also asking head coach candidates about potential GMs.) So there’s a ton still to be figured out here. But with limited information about who might be the front-runner at this point, I’ll take Smith. For most of this season, he found a way to make some pretty effective chicken salad out of a not-great QB situation in Pittsburgh.