A year before the Panthers hired him to be their head coach, Matt Rhule nearly became the leader of the Jets.
Rhule interviewed with the Jets in 2019 in Waco, Texas, while he was still the coach at Baylor. The two sides got close to a deal. How close? That depends on who you ask.
The Jets hired Adam Gase, and Rhule remained at Baylor for a year before taking over in Carolina in 2020. Now, the Jets will get to see Rhule on Sunday in Charlotte.
“That was always a possibility,” Rhule told The Post on Wednesday when asked how close he got to taking the job. “I have a lot of respect for the Johnson family. I went through that process. Growing up in Manhattan, taking the subway to school, there was obviously a pull for me. I remember getting the New York Sack Exchange posters out of the paper on Sundays, and putting Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko and all those guys on my wall. But everything happens for a reason. I think they’ve got a great coach in coach [Robert] Saleh. He’ll do a great job. I’m blessed to be here in Carolina.”
Sources close to Rhule said at the time that he balked when the Jets tried to tell him who he could hire as his coordinators. Jets sources said they never told him who to hire but had concerns that he was going to hire coordinators from the college ranks with no NFL experience.
Whatever happened, the two sides moved on and now will get to see each other this week.
Rhule is not the only Panthers coach who has interviewed for the Jets head coaching job. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady interviewed with the Jets in January before the team hired Saleh.
Panthers QB Sam Darnold played it cool on Wednesday when meeting with reporters in North Carolina. Darnold did his best not to feed into the “revenge game” storyline.
“I didn’t do my job to the best of my abilities,” Darnold said when asked about the idea he did not have enough support around him in his three years with the Jets.
When someone said this week is not like any other week, he said, “But it is.”
Saleh said rookie Hamsah Nasirildeen will start at weakside linebacker. That means the Jets will have two rookies starting at linebacker. Jamien Sherwood will also start at middle linebacker. Saleh said Sherwood will be the “Mike” linebacker but C.J. Mosley will be the one calling the plays in the huddle.
The Jets are healthy entering Week 1. Safety Sharrod Neasman (hamstring) was the only Jet who missed practice. RB La’Mical Perine (foot) was limited. OT Mekhi Becton (concussion) practiced fully and Saleh said Becton would be cleared from the concussion protocol Wednesday. WR Jamison Crowder remains on the COVID-19 list.