The Giants won the right, via coin toss, to play the first regular season game at the new Meadowlands stadium, and Jets owner Woody Johnson is flipping out.

Almost immediately after the NFL announced that the Giants – via coin flip – would play the first regular-season game at the new Meadowlands stadium, Woody Johnson released a statement aimed at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, criticizing the coin toss process because it took place without a presence of a representative from either team.

“An NFL coin toss has a few fundamental elements that are missing here, most notably the presence of the teams involved”, said Johnson, whom one source described as “outraged” by the procedure. “That’s how it’s always done in the league, whether it’s determining the order of the draft or deciding who’s going to kick off the game”.

The funny thing is that Johnson claims it was his idea to use the coin toss, but the NFL initially rejected the idea. He said it was “the fairest way to resolve the issue”. Johnson said he was informed on Friday that the coin toss occurred at the NFL league office, and the Jets had lost.

“We rejected a process in which neither team was present”, he said. “The league departed from our time-honored tradition and declined that the opportunity to set the matter straight with a transparent process.”

After the coin toss on Friday, the Jets posted a story on their website Saturday night, reporting the NFL had made plans for a coin flip. The story promoted the coin toss idea, saying the Jets wanted to make it a media event that their fans could witness. It appears the story was a ploy to put pressure on the NFL league office into a do-over.

According to sources, Goodell didn’t invite the teams to send reps to the coin flip because the Giants didn’t want to flip. To appease each team, Goodell’s plan was that the coin toss winner would open the stadium on Sunday and the loser would host the first Monday Night Football game the following day.

The Giants will play the Sunday afternoon game at the Meadowlands on opening day and the Jets will play the next day at 7:00 pm on Monday Night Football. The opponents for both games will be announced on Monday at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Florida.

I’m surprised that the usually mild-mannered Woody Johnson publicly released such a strong statement. Maybe the speaking style of Jets’ head coach, Rex Ryan, is rubbing off on him.

The New York Jets are actively seeking a new head coach to replace Eric Mangini.  Many reports put the Jets ofensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer as the early favorite.  But it won’t happen!  The best choice to take over the Jets hasn’t even had an interview yet, and his name is currently on the bottom of the list – Brian Billick.

Brian Bilick was the Baltimore Ravens Head Coach from 1999 to 2007 and lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship against the New York Giants in 2000 by a score of 34-7. 

On December 31, 2007, Billick was fired from his position as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. This came after a season in which the team went 5–11, including 1–5 in the division, and lost to the otherwise winless Miami Dolphins. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti described the decision to fire Billick as the toughest decision he has ever had to make. Billick, in a short statement, said Bisciotti did what he believed was best for the Ravens, and asserted that the two men are and will remain friends.

But why would Billick be the best choice as head coach for the New York Jets? Her are 12 reasons:

1. He is and experienced NFL head coach. He coached the Ravens from Jan 199 through December 2007 with a 85-67 record
2. He coached in the AFC, the same conference as the Jets
3. He is refreshed. He did not coach in the 2007 NFL season
4. His previous experience with previous Front Offices have been good. He should be be ok with General Manager Mike Tannenbaum making personal decisions
5. He  has won a Superbowl (against the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV)
6. The Jets Fans won’t stand for another “newbie” – any assistant coach without head coaching experience
7. The Jets Fans want to distance themselves with the leadership that lead to this year’s collapse
8. He is an offensive coach. He started out as a Tide End coach with the Vikings in 1992 then was promoted to offensive coordinator. He quickly created one the most explosive offensives in the league. Something you wouldn’t have expected with his defense in Baltimore
9. Owner Woody Johnson wants a winner
10.Woody Johnson wants an experienced head coach
11.The last three Jets head coaches were defensivehead coaches -Al Groh, Herm Edwards and Eric Mangini
12.He could work with Brett Favre (if Brett decides to return)

There are other candidates for the job, including:

• Brian Shottenheimer, the current New York Jets Offensive Coordinator. But links to the team leadership in the Jets collapse, combined with his inexperience as a head coach, don’t bode well with fans.
• Steve Spagnolo, the New York Giants Defensive Coordinator. He is being courted by three other teams – the Browns, Lions and Broncos. And according to reports of his interview with the Jets front office, he was ill prepared.
• Rex Ryan – Ravens Defensive Coordinator.  No head coaching experience.
• Russ Grimm, Cardinals Assistant Head Coach. He was turned down as head coach by the Chicago Bears in 2004, they opted to go with Lovie Smith.
• Ron Meeks, Colts Defensive Coordinator.  Defensive coach and no head coaching experience.
• Jeff Jagodzinski – Boston College Head Coach. Rumor has it his job security was in danger if he decides to interview with the Jets.  Besides, the Jets fans won’t buy into the idea
• Leslie Frazier -Viking Defensive Coordinator.  Just got a one year extension from the Vikings and he is a defensive coach with no head coaching experience

The question is – would Brian Billick be willing to come back into the limelight and play in New York?

The answer is: He’d be crazy not to!