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Former New York Jets and Giants Coaches ALL Rehired
What gives? All of the recent failed coaches of the New York Jets and Giants have been rehired and some are even working together! Let’s investigate.
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If we can squint and see a positive future for both the New York Jets and New York Giants thanks to their filled-out coaching staffs, what does it say about the teams that so many of their ousted former employees were scooped up by new teams this offseason?
The Arizona Cardinals tabbed former Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as their next head coach. Lafleur and NY parted ways in 2022, and he immediately became one of the most sought after OCs during his time with the Rams, leading to the Arizona hire.
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The Cardinals actually double-dipped, also bringing in former Jet OC Nathaniel Hackett as LaFleur’s OC. Hackett crashed and burned so hard in New York that he switched to defensive analyst for Green Bay in 2025. (That may be more common than we’re assuming, but it still fits the narrative.)
The Tennessee Titans chose Robert Saleh as their next head coach. Saleh was the Jets’ HC for four seasons. Sandwiched around that time, he was one of the best defensive coordinators in the league both before and after his time in New York. This could be the case of Saleh maxing out as a DC; not everyone is head coach material. Or it could be something else.
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For the Giants, Brian Daboll was the big move, becoming Titans OC under Saleh. Daboll had wild ups and downs with the Giants, from being league Coach of the Year to being fired within three seasons. We assume Daboll will be great in Tennessee; it remains to be seen if he will get another head coaching opportunity in the future.
Former Giants DC Patrick Graham also was a new hire this cycle, joining Pittsburgh in the same position. Like many men on this list, he seemed to have his least success while coaching for New York but is otherwise thought of as a good coach in the league. That’s a lot of coaches for two exhausting franchises. What’s the truth behind the headlines?
Former New York Jets and Giants Coaches ALL Rehired
Its NOT Our Fault in New York!
Todd Salem: What’s actually going on here? Are the Jets and Giants bad for coaches? Are they places that get the least out of their hires? It doesn’t make much sense since we’re talking about different staffs and rosters altogether. Not everyone on this list overlapped with each other. The only common denominators are the owners.
We know how people feel about Woody Johnson. I think John Mara and Epstein-file-mentionee Steve Tisch get a pass that they shouldn’t. The latter obviously now has other issues that should probably remove him from this position, but even before that, this ownership group was bad for the on-field product. They were often stubborn, slow to react and adjust, and behind the times in many regards.
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I may also be looking for patterns that aren’t there. Is this just a case of the normal recycling of NFL employees? I suspect there is some of that. If we dug into any team any random offseason, a number of hires would have been theirs at some point in some aspect. The league is too insulated for that not to be the case.
And yet, it is hard to deny these guys were all better outside of New York. It will be fascinating to see how 2026 plays out, particularly for Saleh and Daboll teamed up in Tennessee. If both perform poorly in their new positions, I think that takes the NY teams off the hook. If they are wildly successful with this young and unproven roster, that will speak for itself in the reverse: it’s us; we’re the problem.
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At Least We Hired Good Coaches.
Dan Salem: While coaches in the NFL certainly recycle, it’s usually a bit more spread out. It’s common to move from being a successful coordinator to head coach, and then from a failed head coach back to coordinator. If you become a successful coordinator again, getting another head coaching shot is also common. Teams and fans view the Jets as a cursed franchise and the Giants as wallowing in self-fulfilling failure, so it’s not outlandish to think that any failure in New York gets a pass.
All of that said, it’s truly comical to watch the entirety of our recent coaches on the Jets and Giants immediately get prominent opportunities elsewhere. On an individual basis, each hire makes a ton of sense for both the coach and the team. But as a collective, what the heck is going on? Perhaps the answer lies in a turn inwards. While expected, did we truly believe any of these coaches should have been fired?
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In terms of Saleh and Daboll specifically, both did an excellent job as head coach, yet both lost their teams more than once over their tenures. It’s easy to see how dysfunction and poor team building led to their failures in New York. What’s true about both men is that they were and remain stellar coordinators. Saleh coached San Francisco’s defense last season and it was immediately great again. Daboll gets another chance to coach the offense, this time under Saleh in Tennessee, and I expect a similar shift in their success this year.
There’s truly a two strike rule in the NFL for coaches. You get two chances to be a head coach, if you prove you’re still a great coordinator in between. We rarely see a head coach get fired and then immediately rehired, but the great coordinators usually get a second chance. I’m a bit surprised to see Hackett hired so quickly, especially by LaFleur, but their shared history as former Jets must be the reason. Both got the short end of the stick in New York and both have been successful elsewhere.
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The bottom line is that our teams have been consistently dysfunctional over the last decade or more. Blame the owners, because they deserve it, but also blame the media. It is relentless and gives no runway for growth and development in New York. Yet no one is asking for an immediate Super Bowl victory, we merely want to be competitive and in the conversation at Thanksgiving.
Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
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