ON WFAN: Mike Francesa Asks Jets GM Hard-Hitting Questions In Exclusive Interview
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- WFAN host Mike Francesa has been very critical of the Jets of late, and he got an opportunity to speak with general manager John Idzik on Tuesday afternoon in an attempt to get some answers.
The two discussed the fate of Rex Ryan, the quarterback competition, the current roster, the future of the franchise and much, much more.
Below is just a brief transcript of some of what the two discussed. Listen to the full interview here:
John Idzik
Mike Francesa: As far as Rex Ryan's future, you inherited Rex Ryan. Will you decide his future, or will it be you and the owner? How will Rex Ryan's fate be decided in the future?
John Idzik: Well, I'm in charge of making the decisions. Obviously, any big decisions will be in consult with our owner Woody Johnson. (President) Neil (Glat) will be involved. We'll all discuss everything. Of course, Rex is involved in a lot of the big decisions. So we do things by committee here, but yeah, ultimately, Woody has put me in charge of making the decisions.
Francesa: It's unusual for a guy to come in and inherit a head coach. That's an unusual situation. Did you find that an unusual situation?
Idzik: No, not really. Rex is an accomplished, experienced coach ... I think it's a great advantage to have a head coach who is ingrained in your roster, (who can) bring me up to speed very quickly. And plus, we have similar backgrounds. We're cut from a similar cloth ... I viewed Rex as an asset coming into this job.
Francesa: Isn't it hard to decide what was Rex's past and what was the ex-general manager's past? They were kind of tied at the hip. Now it's being declared that you've come in to clean up a mess. Well, Rex helped make that mess. So how do you separate the two?
Idzik: Well, I guess I don't look back, Mike. I can't speak to anything that happened before me. I can only look forward, and when I came on board I spent a lot of time with Rex, and we developed joint plans. We evaluated our roster together, we prepared for free agency together, we prepared for the draft together ... I just looked forward, I couldn't speak to the past.
Francesa: You have five quarterbacks. You today called it a five-man competition. Does that mean that you are looking at all five as being equal at the present time?
Idzik: You don't enter with any preconceived notions. Obviously Mark (Sanchez) has a lot of experience in the league, he has a lot of experience on this team. David (Garrard) has a lot of experience in the league and he's new to this team. Greg (McElroy) has had limited experience but it's been with this team. Geno (Smith) comes in brand new and Matt (Simms) is a young guy trying to cut his teeth into the league.
Francesa: Are you going to cut Mark Sanchez after June 1?
Idzik: Mike, I'm not going to make any predictions. I would expect Mark to compete with the other quarterbacks and, given his track record and what he brings to the table, I would expect Mark to be here.
Francesa: Wouldn't that be an easy answer though, John? Wouldn't it be an easy thing to say "yes" if you know he's going to be here? If you have plans for him, wouldn't it be easy to say he'd be on the roster after June 1?
Idzik: No, I would rather say, "Let's let it play out. Let's not try to predict things. Let the play on the field answer the question and not somebody in April trying to predict what happens in July or August or September."
Francesa: So you're telling me that Mark could -- between now and June 1 -- decide his fate on the football field?
Idzik: I think we all decide our fates. It's a cumulative process. We do it day to day, week to week, month to month. And all I'm saying is, "Just let it play out."
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