Robert Griffin III thinks the New York Jets should hire a current ESPN personality to lead their organization, and no it’s not Pat McAfee.
With Jets owner Woody Johnson cleaning house before his looming return to the Trump administration, the franchise has already begun the process of replacing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas, who were both fired this season. It’s been reported that the Jets will rely on their former GM and current ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum and his The 33rd Team to support their search. But according to Griffin, the Jets should look no further than Tannenbaum’s ESPN colleague, Louis Riddick.
The Jets need a GM who the media will respect and if they don’t he won’t give a damn. That’s @LRiddickESPN. Louis has deep knowledge of the college prospects, evolution of the pro game and has zero doubt in what a team needs to build a champion. Let him pick his coach and his QB.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 25, 2024
“The Jets need a GM who the media will respect and if they don’t, he won’t give a damn,” Griffin wrote. “That’s [Louis Riddick]. Louis has deep knowledge of the college prospects, evolution of the pro game and has zero doubt in what a team needs to build a champion. Let him pick his coach and his QB.”
Riddick has interviewed for a lot of jobs over the last decade, but he hasn’t worked in an NFL front office since 2013. His work with ESPN covering the NFL and college football, however, is certainly relevant. Riddick would be a flashy hire in terms of name recognition and he’s a respected personality who could bring credibility to an organization in disarray. But the best thing Riddick has going for him, might be the fact that he’s never held this position before.
For an organization that doesn’t have much success to boast about in their history, the Jets, for some reason, have been linked to candidates that seemingly should remain in their rearview mirror. The Jets brought in their former GM Mike Tannenbaum to lead their search, Rex Ryan has repeatedly campaigned for the Jets coaching vacancy and Eric Mangini didn’t deny his own interest in the job.
It’s only a matter of time before Herman Edwards throws his hat into the ring. To his credit, former Jets head coach Bill Belichick seemingly went the opposite direction and removed himself from the conversation by ripping Woody Johnson on ESPN earlier this season. The Jets could certainly do worse than interviewing someone like Riddick, who could hopefully give the organization a fresh start.
