01/05 – As a followup to my most recent Radar entry this afternoon, one of those six interviews that the Jets will have this week with head-coaching candidates will be with an old Hog. Russ Grimm, the Arizona Cardinals, assistant head coach/offensive line and the longtime Washington Redskins guard, will interview with a Jets contingent that will include owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum in the Phoenix area on Thursday. Grimm hasn't been a coaching nomad over his career. He was born in Pennsylvania and went to Pitt. He played and coached 20 years with the Redskins, then moved back home to coach Pittsburgh's OL for seven seasons. He was up for the Steelers' HC job that went to Mike Tomlin in 2007, then moved west with Ken Whisenhunt to coach up the Cards. And that job has been going well. Arizona, of course, has moved on to the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs — their 30-24 win over Atlanta has advanced them to a Saturday night date at Carolina against the second-seeded Panthers. But the Cards gave permission for Grimm to speak with the Jets. (Perhaps because Whisenhunt is an old Jets TE and assistant coach himself?) And with the NFL's complex rules to ensure that all head-coaching candidates get interviews even if their team is on a Super Bowl run, the window of opportunity for the Jets and Grimm is Thursday in the desert.

Mr. J, Mike T Will Talk With Grimm in the Desert

01/05 – It's Week 2 and the Jets' head-coaching interview process will ratchet up. We're hearing that owner Woody Johnson this week will conduct interviews with six candidates for the job opening. Two of them will be Johnson's first interviews with the Jets' in-house candidates, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Tuesday and assistant head coach/offensive line Bill Callahan on Wednesday. I don't have hard information on who the other four interviewees will be, but we can say that due to the complex rules that the NFL has developed for interviewing candidates still coaching in the playoffs, a window of opportunity will open soon to talk with Rex Ryan, the Baltimore defensive coordinator whom the Ravens have given the Jets permission to speak to. The Ravens flew away from the Dolphins, 27-9, on Sunday and have advanced to a Saturday AFC Divisional Round Game at top-seeded Tennessee. While Johnson was out of the country last week, he was in close contact with GM Mike Tannenbaum as the process began last week with interviews with Schottenheimer and Callahan on Friday and Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo on Saturday. One thing to keep in mind regarding this search is that it's not about "practice, practice, practice" but rather "process, process, process." The search has been set up along the lines of the Green & White draft process. When the Jets draft every April, they do so only after meticulously setting up their annual procedure of filtering and weighing all their myriad interviews, visits, meetings, combine workout information, external and internal recommendations and research. And that's just the way this coaching process has been set up as well ... except maybe for the combine part. It's probably not important for the Jets' new coach to be able to turn a 4.4 in the 40 and a 6.8 in the three-cone drill. Several commentators have noted the thoroughness of the Jets' current process, including Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com, who spent time with Eric Allen and me this morning for this week's "Jets Two-Minute Drive." That show can be heard on newyorkjets.com later this afternoon. One more bit of information we've learned about the Jets' coaching search is that despite published reports, no frontrunners for the job have emerged this early in the process. There's that word again.  Checking in at No. 17 Lost in the Jets' coaching search is their draft position. Just to confirm for anyone who missed it, the Jets are in the 17th slot in the first round. They are tied with four other teams — Chicago, Tampa Bay, Detroit (from a trade with Dallas) and Arizona — in the 9-7 segment. The Cardinals automatically fall to 21st and last in the segment for Round 1 because they're in the playoffs. The other four teams were ordered based on their opponents' schedule strength. The Jets' .471 was the lowest of the four so they get the highest pick in the first round in that segment. Then they fall to the bottom of the segment for Round 2, which is No. 53 overall. As a final note, the Jets could rise to No. 16 overall, but only if San Diego reaches the Super Bowl.

Busy Week Ahead: Six Interviews Set

01/05 – Chad Pennington's going, Brett Favre's thinking, Bill Cowher's staying, the Jets are interviewing, and the Falcons, Chargers, Ravens and Eagles are advancing. Pennington's return to the playoffs was a short trip. After throwing only seven interceptions during a remarkable regular season with the Dolphins, the former Jets passer threw four picks against the Ravens in a 27-9 loss Sunday. "It has been a special year. That's why it hurts so much," said Penny, just a week after Miami clinched its AFC East title at the Meadowlands with a win over the Green & White. "You want to keep it going and see how far you can take it." With the score tied, 3-3, late in the second quarter, Pennington went up top to Ted Ginn but instead found the ridiculous Ed Reed. Not only did Fast Eddie pick up the first of his two thefts on the afternoon, but he ran back his takeaway for a 64-yard score. Sports Ilustrated's Peter King spoke with Favre only a few days after the Jets finished up their season. According to King, Favre appears to be learning towards retirement. "I'll take some time, but it may be time to look in a different direction,'' Favre reportedly told GM Mike Tannenbaum. King also said Favre declined to undergo an arthroscopic surgery to repair his damaged right biceps, which was recommended by team doctors if he intends to play again. It doesn't appear any final decision from Favre is on the front burner. Last week the Jets reached out to Cowher, the former Steelers head coach, about their head coaching vacancy. But he quickly removed his name from consideration and the CBS studio analyst clarified his status Sunday afternoon. "It's a privilege and an honor to be a head coach in the National Football League, and I have been flattered about the attention," he said. "But the timing right now is not right. I don't plan on coaching next year." To this point, the Jets have conducted three interviews for their vacancy. Offensive coordinator Brian Schotteneheimer and assistant head coach/offensive line Bill Callahan received interviews Friday while Giants defensive coordinator Steven Spagnuolo visited the Jets' Florham Park offices on Saturday. The Green & White have also received permission to speak with Rex Ryan, the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator/assistant head coach. But there have been conflicting reports about whether Boston College football coach Jeff Jagodzinski has been contacted by the team. The Boston Globe indicated that Jagodzinski had been contacted, but the Eagles boss refuted that report. "Well, there's nothing to it," he said. "I haven't talked to them and no one has contacted me." Then late Sunday evening, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that BC has threatened to fire Jagodzinski, who was Favre's offensive coordinator in Green Bay in 2006, if he interviewed for the Jets' job. According to NFL Network reporter Adam Schefter, the Jets will also speak with former Ravens head coach Brian Billick this coming week . "Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is the favorite for the job, but Billick can't be dismissed," Schefter wrote on his blog. As far as the other weekend playoff results, the Cards held off the Falcons, 30-24, and the Chargers topped the Colts, 23-17, in a late Saturday OT thriller. Then the weekend ended with the Eagles' 26-14 triumph at Minnesota. We'll talk about the divisional matchups later in the week, but these two No. 6 seeds are live dogs. The Ravens are going to be a handful for the Titans in Nashville and the Eagles will be a tough out for the Giants. Can 'Bolts RB Darren Sproles give the Steelers fits? He was sensational against Indy and defensive coordinator Ron Rivera called a great game. But it's a lot easier playing in SoCal than in the 'Burgh and the Steelers have one of the best homefield advantages in football. Congratulations to the Cardinals, but their playoff stay will be short. The Panthers are waiting in their den for a team that just doesn't play well on the road.

EA: On, Off the Field on Wild Card Weekend