The Jets have appointed a head coach with a defensive background, but the offensive thoughts he brings may be the key to resolving the team’s quarterback issue.
The new head coach, Robert Saleh, is expected to bring Mike LaFleur from San Francisco as his attacking coordinator. LaFleur, the younger brother of Matt LaFleur, Packers head coach, was the 49ers’ coordinator for the passing game.
LaFleur could be the person accusing the Jets of getting Sam Darnold back on track. The team has a decision to make on whether to swap the 23-year-old quarterback who drafted them third overall in 2018 and want to move on or try to save him.
Josh McCown, who played with Darnold in 2018 and stays close to him, believes Darnold can thrive in LaFleur’s offense. LaFleur is expected to perform a version of the Kyle Shanahan offense that was used in San Francisco and became popular in the league.
‘I think where Sam is in his development and to recover a bit and take stock of what he’s done over the last three years, but to grow and move forward, I think it’s the perfect system to do that. to do, ‘McCown said Friday. ‘You take a little pressure off the quarterback to be a good decision maker in the fallback. It’s a heavy run game and play action and play-action football, it’s good and easy football because you fake and then it’s usually a 1-2-3 type of thing. There are not necessarily full field readings in play action. You can keep the quarterback’s eyes in one place and limit his options and help him play better football. ”
The Shanahan offense dates back to Kyle’s father, Mike, who played for the Broncos from 1995 to 2008. It is very dependent on zone runs and game action does not succeed in the running game. The Shanahan attack also features more rollout and play to get the quarter out of the bag. The Jets presented a version of it in Darnold’s rookie season when Jeremy Bates was their attacking coordinator.
‘[Darnold] ‘makes some good plays, but he also makes some bad decisions,’ McCown said. ‘I think if it’s more of a scheduled outside of the bag, if it’s a movement game, which they do so well, I think it’s going to be a little counterintuitive in decision making. This will give him better options. I think it will be better for him. ”
McCown, who ended the season at the Texans, said he has watched many Jets games this year and sees Darnold struggling.
“I think he pushed and tried to win every game with one throw,” McCown said. “You could only see the frustration. You hate it for him. I think the circumstances with the pressure on the coaching situation and everything I think forced him into a bad football. The best thing about Sam is that he takes ownership of it and that he will work to improve. ”
McCown said the Jets should not give up Darnold.
“I think given his talent level and the type of kid he is,” McCown said. “Letting him go with a new offense would be wise just from the point of view of how much you believe in the guys you hired.”