Herman Edwards, who’s had enough brush fires to put out this season in his own backyard, yesterday found himself trying to put out yet more flammable rumors about his coaching future.
One day after Dick Vermeil, a mentor and father figure to Edwards, told reporters in Kansas City that Edwards was doing such a good job holding his injury-riddled team together, that he warranted coach-of-the-year consideration, Edwards again became a lightning rod.
Vermeil’s remarks stirred the conspiracy theorists – the popular belief being that Vermeil, who’s expected to retire after this season, was putting in a public plug for Edwards as the Chiefs’ next head coach.
Edwards, as has been well-documented, has a strong relationship with Vermeil, Chiefs president Carl Peterson and team owner Lamar Hunt from his previous employment there as a scout and assistant coach.
Yesterday, Edwards said adamantly again that he has no intention on leaving the Jets and that he plans on being here next year and beyond.
“I’m the Jets coach,” Edwards said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Asked if he’s happy with the Jets, Edwards said, “Yeah. Always have been. I like it here. I’m the Jets coach. Period. Really, seriously, we don’t need to keep going on this. There’s going to be speculation, we know that. There always is at the end of the year. That’s what this thing is about; it’s about speculation.”
With Edwards having two years left on his contract, with the Jets clearly in a major rebuilding mode on offense in 2006 and with a number of NFL jobs likely opening shortly after the season, there will be continued speculation about Edwards.
Jets owner Woody Johnson, who by all accounts likes Edwards as the face of the franchise, can put a quick end to it all by extending Edwards’ contract by two years to show more solidarity.
If he doesn’t, Johnson, who doesn’t speak to the media, risks watching a team like the Chiefs coming after Edwards with a more attractive financial and long-term offer, asking the Jets permission to speak to Edwards with a draft-pick compensation offer.
What if the Chiefs come to the Jets offering Edwards a large raise from his current contract?
If Edwards wanted out for something like that, and Johnson doesn’t want to commit to him long-term, then why would the Jets want an unhappy Edwards coaching here? That would be completely counterproductive.
Edwards insisted yesterday that even the thought of rebuilding the offense and bringing the Jets back to playoff contention energizes him as a challenge.
“I keep saying that it’s not a condition; it’s a season, it can be fixed,” Edwards said. “Oh, we have a big hill to climb, [but] I’m the guy that went with Tony [Dungy] from Kansas City, where they go to the playoffs every year, to Tampa, where there are no fans, there’s no nothing.
“We’re in those popsicle suits all orange; we can’t win a game. It was a condition down there. It wasn’t a year; it was a condition. We got it changed, the atmosphere.”
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Though they’re listed as questionable, it doesn’t look like DE Shaun Ellis (hamstring) or DT Dewayne Robertson (thigh) will play Sunday. Neither has practiced all week. CB Ty Law (foot) is expected to play. S Oliver Celestin (ankle) is questionable.
WR Laveranues Coles was asked if Washington got the better of the trade – the Jets with him returning to New York or the Redskins with Santana Moss, who’s going to the Pro Bowl.
“It doesn’t bother me one bit because the same people said the same thing when I left [New York to go to WashingTon],” Coles said. “I understand that Santana has had an excellent year. I’ve said that from the time that I left that he’s going to be special. It was just a matter of time before he exploded. I’m happy for him.”
Moss has a career-high 80 catches and nine TDs while Coles has 69 catches and five TDs.