The Jets have already begun interviews with general manager and head coach candidates, but the search process will likely become more active this week.
Here’s a primer on some of the rules and action plans involved in discovery.
Why have the Jets already interviewed some candidates?
Teams can talk to candidates who aren’t employed by other teams.
That’s why the Jets could talk with Thomas Dimitroff, Jon Robinson, Jim Nagy and Louis Riddick about the GM job, and with Mike Vrabel and Ron Rivera about the head coaching opening.
When can I interview other people?
The interview process begins this week for anyone working on the team.
The Jets could ask other teams to interview people who work for them.
Coaches of teams participating in wild card games must wait until after those games to be interviewed.
Will the Jets hire a GM or coach first?
There have been some concerns about interviewing coaching candidates without a GM, but it still remains possible that the Jets will hire a GM first.
Interviews with head coach candidates hired by each team can be conducted virtually before January 19, when the divisional round ends.
A virtual interview with a candidate for a playoff-bound team lasts just three hours.
In other words, the manager interview will be a “getting to know you” session for owner Woody Johnson and other decision-makers with the candidates.
On the other hand, GM interviews can also be conducted in person.
These facts create a timeline where a GM hire will likely occur before the team hires a head coach.
The only exception may be Vrabel, who is not employed by the team and is not subject to these restrictions. He is also expected to want to say who the new GM will be.
When can I have an in-person interview?
If the coach is not employed by your team, you can interview him or her in person now.
That’s what happened to Vrabel and Rivera.
Coaches hired by teams cannot conduct in-person interviews until January 20th.
If a coach’s team is participating in a conference championship game, in-person interviews cannot be conducted until January 27.
What about the Rooney Rule?
The Jets must personally interview two people of color and/or women for each position before hiring.
Virtual interviews are not included in the Rooney Rules.
That means the Jets won’t be able to hire Vrabel on Monday morning if they want to.
The team has already interviewed Rivera for the head coaching reveal and Riddick for the GM job, but they need to have at least one candidate interviewing for each job to meet the requirements.
