The 50-year-old Sparano now will try to get the franchise quarterback back on track, and he could get some help doing so. A few reports said former Kansas City coach Todd Haley, known for his work with developing passing games, was interviewing with the Jets for a position on Rex Ryan’s staff.
There will be a few new faces working under Ryan next season. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan and wide receivers coach Henry Ellard are also both not expected back.
This will be the first NFL offensive coordinator job for Sparano, but he did call plays for Dallas during the 2006 season. He is a strong proponent of a run-first approach on offense, something Ryan prefers — ‘‘Ground-and-Pound’’ — and the type of system Sanchez thrived in during his first two seasons with the Jets.
Sparano was fired as the head coach of the Dolphins last month after going 29-32 in three-plus seasons. He also has worked as an assistant in Cleveland, Washington and Jacksonville.
The 38-year-old Schottenheimer said in a statement late Tuesday night that he was ‘‘very proud of what we have accomplished’’ during his six seasons with the Jets, and thanked coach Ryan and the organization. Despite finishing 8-8 and failing to make the playoffs, both Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum said last week that they expected Schottenheimer back unless he got a head coaching job.
Despite the votes of confidence, the perception from fans and media was Schottenheimer was on his way out. He interviewed for Jacksonville’s job, which went to Mike Mularkey on Tuesday night — and then the Jets announced they and Schottenheimer had parted ways.
The move came despite Schottenheimer having two years and about $3.2 million remaining on his contract after quietly receiving an extension in the offseason.
Things seemed to come to a head for Schottenheimer in Week 16 as the offense struggled in a 29-14 loss to the Giants. Sanchez threw 59 times, something that had even the players scratching their heads.
