Not really the kind of news I was waiting to hear as a Jet fan, but what can ya do?

Gang Green hired former University of Nebraska and Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan as their assistant head coach/offense.  I'm not really sure what that title means (will Callahan pass out the game plans during offensive meetings?  Pick up the equipment after practice?  Make runs to Dunkin' Donuts?), but according to Eric Mangini, Callahan's expertise with the "running game and with protections will be a big asset."

I guess.  I heard Callahan's name floating around in regard to the Jets, but I thought that was contingent on the Baltimore Ravens hiring Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as their head coach.  If you didn't hear, the Ravens went in a different direction on Friday.

If you're unfamiliar with Callahan's body of work, here's a brief rundown.  He was the Raiders offensive coordinator from 1998 to 2001.  Under his watch, the Raiders led the NFL in rushing in 2000. Callahan then moved up to head coach in 2002 where Oakland led the league in passing offense and total offense.  Callahan guided the Silver and Black to the Super Bowl in his first year as top dog where they were smoked by their previous head coach Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21.  Callahan was criticized after the loss for not changing the offensive audibles against his former boss.  That fopaux tipped the Bucs defenders to many of Oakland's offensive plays and led to the Raiders gaining only 19 yards on the ground.

The next season the Raiders finished 4-12 and Callahan was shown the door.  The Raider franchise hasn't been the same since.

Callahan then moved on to become the head coach at Nebraska.  He led the Cornhuskers from 2004 to 2007 and compiled a 27-22 record and two bowl appearances.  That doesn't sound terrible, but his style was never really embraced in Nebraska, his west coast offense didn't make anyone forget the triple-option (despite Nebraska ranking in the Top 25 in rushing, passing, total yards and scoring in 2006) and his defense was atrocious this past season, giving up 76 points to Kansas.  Callahan also didn't endear himself to Mr. Nebraska Tom Osborne, who fired Callahan after becoming the interim athletic director this past season.  It could be years before Nebraska is considered a feared college program again.

Let's hope Mangini keeps Callahan on coffee runs for a while. Leave a comment

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