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Hot seat for Jets coach Todd Bowles not as hot as you might think

Todd Bowles' second season has been a rocky one, but probably isn't rocky enough to make a change on top. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:

1. In Todd he trusts: The frustration is palpable at One Jets Drive, all the way up to the owner’s office, but there is no sense of impending doom. From all indications, Woody Johnson remains behind coach Todd Bowles despite the 3-9 record and a four-game losing streak.

Johnson hasn't made any public comments, but the sense from people familiar with the situation is that he's not planning to fire Bowles after only two seasons. He can be an impulsive owner, so who knows how he’d respond to another loss or two like last Monday night? One banner-toting plane over practice could influence the man’s thinking, but as of right now, he’s still a Bowles supporter, I'm told.

The Jets' current power structure, created when Johnson hired Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan in January 2015, is new for this franchise. Bowles and Maccagnan are equals and report directly to Johnson, meaning Maccagnan doesn't decide Bowles' fate. It truly puts it all on Johnson.

The way many see it, Johnson would be punishing them for the sins of previous regimes if he sacks one or both. The Jets’ talent is poor, in large part, because only five current starters remain from the 2008 to 2014 drafts: Muhammad Wilkerson, Brian Winters, Quincy Enunwa, Calvin Pryor and Sheldon Richardson.

That’s it.

That’s bad.

Maccagnan tried the quick-fix approach last year, bringing in older players, but that only prolonged the inevitable swoon. He called it a "competitive rebuild." That sounds nice in the boardroom, but it's difficult to execute. The upside was that it created a winning culture and credibility -- they almost made the playoffs -- but you need to win to sustain that culture and credibility. Now they're having the kind of year that many expected them to have last year.

Still, it would be rash for Johnson to dump the coach after only two years. Barring a change of heart, he won't.

2. Hot seat for Chan: After his first season, Bowles made only one significant change on his coaching staff, firing special-teams coordinator Bobby April. This time, look for multiple changes. You can’t have this kind of season and opt for the status quo; it doesn’t work that way.

Bowles can fire a position coach or two, but that would be just cosmetic. The elephant in the room is offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, a good coach having a bad year. The offense, ranked 10th last season, has plummeted to 24th.

Under Gailey’s watch, the quarterback position (mainly Ryan Fitzpatrick) is performing at historically low levels. He’s too pass-reliant, the offense starts poorly (only 39 first-quarter points) and his disregard for the tight-end position is hard to fathom.

Surprisingly, the tight ends have been involved the last two games. That, I'm told, came from Bowles.

Gailey, who turns 65 next month, wants to stick around. The downside to firing him is the likelihood of having to start over in a new system, which would impede the development of Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg. Then again, sometimes you have to take one step back before you can take two steps forward.

3. Totally unnecessary: Why doesn’t this surprise me? The Jets, flagged for three unnecessary-roughness penalties last week, have increased their total to eight. The only teams with more are the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles, according to nflpenalties.com. The Jets have two players with two apiece – Richardson and Buster Skrine. Again, not a surprise.

4. Nick out of time? One of the many subplots in the offseason will be the future of Nick Mangold, who is done for the season. Not only is Mangold dealing with an ankle injury, but he has a foot strain that is "pretty significant," according to Bowles. They don't believe it's a Lisfranc injury (good news), but Mangold is having additional tests to see if surgery is necessary.

Mangold doesn't reveal too much publicly, but one person who knows him told me this season has been exceptionally hard on the former Pro Bowl center. This person said he wouldn't be shocked if Mangold, who turns 33 next month, decides to retire. He's under contract for 2017, but his cap charge is a prohibitive $9.1 million. Tough decisions are looming for Mangold and the Jets.

5. Build the foundation: Maccagnan must make a concerted effort to rebuild the offensive line, which is breaking down after years of neglect. Of the five starters, only one is a lock to return -- left guard James Carpenter. Right guard Winters is having a solid year, but he will be a sought-after free agent.

Since the Mangold-D'Brickashaw Ferguson draft in 2006, the Jets have used 11 picks on offensive linemen, only two of whom are starting in the league -- Winters and Matt Slauson (San Diego Chargers). Of those 11, only one was drafted in the second round or higher -- Vlad Ducasse, a second-round reach in 2010.

Maccagnan should follow the Dallas Cowboys' blueprint. Set the foundation before you buy expensive paintings for the wall.

6. Classic coachspeak: Some defensive coaches like to say sacks are an overrated statistic. You know who says that? Coaches whose teams don't get many sacks. The Jets are one of those teams, as they have only 20 -- including just 13 in the last 11 games.

Is that a misleading statistic? No, not really. The Jets' pressure rate -- the percentage of times the quarterback is sacked, hit or under duress -- is only 22.6 percent, according to ESPN Stats & Information. By the way, that's 27th in the league.

7. Hollow stat of the week: The Jets are 3-0 when scoring 24 points and 0-9 when they don't. The league average is 22. Moral of the story: Be average and you'll win a bunch of games.

8. Snap to it: With longtime long snapper Tanner Purdum poised to hit free agency, the Jets already have begun formulating contingency plans. On Tuesday, they brought in four free agents for an audition with an eye on 2017. They could sign one to a future/reserve contract when the season ends. Call it Purdum Insurance.

9. Hit Man climbing: David Harris needs seven tackles to pass Mo Lewis for second-place on the team's all-time list. Harris isn't an individual-goals kind of guy, but he has told friends he'd like to break Kyle Clifton's team record (1,471). Right now he trails by 246 tackles, probably another two years of tackling.

10. Jet-setting dreamer: Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, 41, the CEO of VaynerMedia, told ABC News his lifelong ambition is to own the Jets. He said, "My next step in my career is going out and buying businesses and then running them through the VaynerMedia machine, and then flipping them and then making hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and, hopefully, billions, and then buy the New York Jets." A little warning, Gary: It comes with a lot of agita.