Jets Eyeing Mike Tomlin as Ex-HC Predicted to Team Up With Lamar Jackson in New York

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is currently navigating an incredibly tense coaching situation surrounding Aaron Glenn. The controversial owner is publicly sticking with his first-year coaching hire while simultaneously exploring massive contingency plans behind the scenes. This quiet background research has rapidly escalated into a full-blown organizational obsession centered on a legendary former Pittsburgh Steelers coach.

Johnson is reportedly doing extensive homework on Mike Tomlin and has developed genuine, aggressive interest in bringing him to New York. As per Behind the Steel Curtain’s Jarrett Bailey, insider Jason La Canfora recently confirmed that the billionaire owner is looking far past casual television observations.

“Mike Tomlin is generating significant interest among NFL owners for a potential return back to head coaching. Woody is starting to ask a lot of questions,” La Canfora reports. “He’s doing his homework on Tomlin, this one has legs. Mike is in New York at Rockefeller Center for NBC, Woody is back in charge at the facility, and he knows how steep the competition will be. You are going to hear a lot about the Jets.”

Johnson has historically preferred hiring first-time head coaches to lead his massive franchise. Sources close to the owner believe he would completely ditch that foundational approach to land someone possessing Tomlin’s immaculate coaching resume. The current head coach is widely viewed as a temporary placeholder while this massive background maneuver unfolds.

“Glenn is a dead man walking, and he knows it,” one general manager told La Canfora. “I hear the same thing about Woody wanting Tomlin. It makes complete sense, money won’t be an object.”

Earlier this year, The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor pitched a massive seven-year, $210 million offer that would make Tomlin the Jets’ absolute football czar. That structure would grant him total control over both the front office and the sideline. Considering Johnson’s roughly $11 billion net worth, the franchise can easily afford to construct an unprecedented financial package. The targeted coach brings a level of sustained success that is entirely foreign to the New York organization.

Tomlin spent 19 dominant seasons in Pittsburgh, compiling a massive 193-114-2 record without ever suffering a single losing campaign. His teams admittedly stalled out early in the playoffs since 2017, and he struggled to develop a franchise quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger retired. The New York front office is actively formulating a blockbuster transaction to solve that exact quarterback dilemma.

Then there’s the Lamar Jackson angle, which La Canfora only briefly mentioned.

Could the Jets get both Mike Tomlin and Lamar Jackson?

The Jets are quietly plotting a massive secondary move to pair their targeted head coach with a two-time MVP quarterback. Lamar Jackson possesses a highly unique contract structure that provides him with massive leverage over the Baltimore Ravens. The franchise cannot legally trade him without his explicit permission, and they are completely forbidden from applying the franchise tag once the 2027 season concludes. This contractual reality creates a very clear path to a forced departure.

La Canfora firmly believes Jackson might demand a trade if Baltimore fails to offer him a satisfactory contract extension before the current season concludes.

“A potential Tomlin hire could immediately trigger secondary moves across the league, with conversations pointing toward a pursuit of two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson,” La Canfora wrote.

 The New York front office already possesses the exact specific assets required to execute this unprecedented blockbuster acquisition. But here’s the interesting part. The Jets actually have the draft picks to make a move like this happen. They own Dallas’s first-round pick in 2027 from the Quinnen Williams trade, plus Indianapolis’s first-round pick from the Sauce Gardner trade.

Jackson still has two years left on his $260 million contract. And because his deal includes a no-tag clause, he has a clear path to free agency in 2028, which gives him real leverage in any contract talks.

Would the Jets actually convince Baltimore to trade away their franchise quarterback? That’s a much tougher question. But with the draft capital they’re holding, they at least have a real chance to try.

What really makes this pairing intriguing, though, is the connection between Tomlin and Jackson themselves.

“The pair share a deep mutual respect built over years of AFC North battles, and New York’s defensive core provides an immediate foundation for a contender,” La Canfora added. “Combined with Johnson’s history of pursuing marquee names and Tomlin’s preference for veteran quarterbacks, the alignment is clear.”

Still, if Glenn’s squad turns things around or the Ravens lock up Jackson long term, all this talk could fade fast, but for now, Jets fans are allowed to dream. The Jets front office will continuously monitor the developing Baltimore contract negotiations as the 2026 NFL season unfolds.

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