By Glenn Naughton<\/p>\n
From the very beginning, Woody Johnson and the Jets got it right this time around.\u00a0 A head coaching search that began before the season ended was one that led them through a list of what many considered to be the\u00a0top candidates available.\u00a0 Johnson took the initiative and sought the advice of\u00a0 two respected football men in Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf, both Super Bowl winning general managers in their own right.<\/p>\n
Atop the Jets\u00a0list were a pair of defensive coordinators who also happened to be New Jersey natives.\u00a0 Dan Quinn of the Seattle Seahawks and Todd Bowles in Arizona with the Cardinals.\u00a0 Both earned high praise from current players and\u00a0insiders familiar with their work, and both are\u00a0said to be ready to make the leap and run their own team from top to bottom.<\/p>\n
Quinn was the Jets top choice with Bowles being a\u00a0close second in the early running.\u00a0Both candidates were interviewed, and the Jets\u00a0appeared to be willing to wait out the Seahawks’ post-season run so they could make an official offer\u00a0to Quinn.\u00a0 However, the ouster of John Fox in Denver had an immediate impact on the coaching\u00a0landscape.\u00a0 Even with Peyton Manning’s future being undecided, many view that job as the most desirable.\u00a0 To take over\u00a0a team that will possibly be led by a Hall of Fame quarterback along with one of the top defense’s in the league would be tough to contend with.\u00a0\u00a0Most teams looking\u00a0for a head coach are facing a rebuild, while the Broncos are just one year removed from a Super Bowl appearance.\u00a0 With this being the case, once Fox was out of work, Woody Johnson and the Jets went to work.<\/p>\n
Bowles was scheduled to meet with the Atlanta Falcons today while the Jets had Panthers’ defensive coordinator Sean McDermott ready to sit down and interview for their vacancy.\u00a0 At mid-day however, it was learned that the Jets, who had already met with Bowles on January 7th, asked him to come in for a second interview before heading to Atlanta.\u00a0 Cutting off another potential suitor was the first sign that the Jets were serious.\u00a0 Bowles agreed to come in, and as day turned to night, there were no reports of Bowles departing the facility.\u00a0 The writing was on the wall when the Jets cancelled their interview with McDermott.\u00a0 A short time later, we learned that\u00a0Johnson, Bowles, and new General Manager Mike Maccagnan were heading out to dinner together<\/a>.\u00a0 The Jets had their guy, and unlike they’ve done so many times in the past, they weren’t going to let him leave town without a deal.\u00a0 At just after 7pm, Bowles sent a message to ESPN’s Josina Anderson:<\/p>\n Josina Anderson<\/span>Verified account<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/strong>\u200f<\/span>@<\/span><\/s>JosinaAnderson<\/span><\/b><\/span> <\/span>