Mark Sanchez was the last guy playing quarterback from the Jets to take a snap in the playoffs. The last guy, who in consecutive seasons took the team to AFC Championship games -- as a rookie in January 2010 and then one year later. Now an in-game analyst for Fox, Sanchez recently discussed the Jets, surveying the season just completed and looking ahead as the team considers candidates for general manager and coach.
What Happened in the 2024 Season?
"It's so hard to put your finger on one specific thing, but I will say, and I know this isn't because it's the Jets, this is any team that's 5-12," Sanchez told Eric Allen on "The Official Jets Podcast." "This is ... look at the Commanders last year compared to this year. Look at [HC] Dan Campbell and the Lions a few years back and now these past two years. It takes time. This whole thing isn't instant grits. And I know everybody wants that. Just give me the answers now. Plug and play. 'We got Aaron Rodgers. We're winning the Super Bowl, sir.' That sounds good. It doesn't always equate to that, right? The theory versus the practice idea."
Like so many other observers, Sanchez landed on the need to finish games. The Jets were 3-7 in one-score games and squandered six fourth-quarter leads during the season.
"I'm telling you, 5-12 is ... I mean, we're talking a couple of plays throughout the season, a game, a bounce, an injury, that you go from 5-12 to 12-5," he said. "And I know it sounds crazy, I promise you, I know it sounds crazy. And, oh, you're saying that because this is a Jets podcast. I'd say it on any team's podcast, 31 other teams, I'd say it. And it really is."
Talking About the Quarterback
Statistically speaking, Aaron Rodgers had one the finest seasons by a quarterback in the 60-plus years of franchise history. After coming back from a torn Achilles tendon and turning 41 in early December, Rodgers fought nagging injuries and played in all 17 games, finishing with 3,897 passing yards, the third most in a season for the Green & White. His 28 touchdowns also rank No. 3 in franchise history in a season.
And with a regime to soon be installed, and although Rodgers remains under contract, it is impossible to know what a new coach and GM have in mind for the four-time NFL MVP. Rodgers has talked about the need to take a break mentally before he makes a decision on his future.
"I think when you talk about the quarterback position there's a production aspect, there is the contract aspect and the financial aspect, and then there's the atmosphere and leadership aspect," Sanchez said. "So, if we're talking straight up production and stats, almost 3,900 yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 63 percent completions. This is better than his last year in Green Bay."
He added: "I mean, you can win with that. There's definitely some winning football in there somewhere, because those stats are better than half the league -- at 41 years old, coming off an Achilles. So whoever comes in has to decide on if that's enough for them and what that means. That's going to play into the next point, which is the financials. And it's a big number. It's a big number for a guy who's 41, but if you like that production and you're willing to pay him that much, don't forget, he set his terms, the team agreed to those terms, and that's what you get when you make an agreement like that. That's what happens. So you take the good with the bad."
The 'Revis Rule'
It was once written that "no man is an island," unless, of course, that man was the Jets' legendary cornerback Darrelle Revis. Taken a step further, one could say "he who has the gold makes the rules." And from the mind of the team's former coach Rex Ryan, sprang the totally informal, worth a smile "Revis Rule."
"Rex just made that joke one time," Mark Sanchez said on the podcast. "He said, 'you know, the bus leaves at 2:30' talking about, we're going to the airport for a road game. And he said, the bus leaves at 2:30 unless you're Darrelle Revis, meaning we'll wait for Darrelle. And then we broke it down, you know, Jets on 3 ... 1, 2, 3, Jets.
"And then as we're walking away, it's like, if you have to think about if we'll wait for you, we ain't waiting. That means you're not that good. That's one of those things you get to because we had so many veterans, we had guys that could take that kind of sarcasm, that could understand that kind of humor."
He added: "Now you got a whole new group and rookies, and you ain't making that joke. You got to read the room. You can't do that. But with our team, other than me, we had veterans everywhere. So it was a fun time and a different atmosphere."
Coach and GM Interviews
The Jets have been doing their due diligence is their pursuit of a new GM and coach.
The NFL has protocols in place for teams seeking to hire a new coach and/or a new general manager. After the Divisional Round of games this weekend, the door will crack open a bit more for sought-after assistants.
On-site sitdowns with an assistant still under contract can begin on Monday, Jan. 20, but only among assistants on the four teams that were eliminated over the weekend. The next key date is Jan. 27 -- either on teams not alive for conference titles or for those about to go on a bye week ahead of the Super Bowl. Those interviews are permitted until Feb. 2, then not until the day after the Feb. 9 title game.
GM candidates (who were not their teams' primary decision makers) have been permitted to interview since Jan. 13. A candidate from a team in the playoffs is permitted to accept a job offer before their season is completed, but only with written permission from the current team.
