Former NFL Head Coach Says Jets Should Draft BYU's Zach Wilson and Keep Sam Darnold

The Jets have quite the decision to make on the horizon.

Should they stick with Sam Darnold, the franchise quarterback and former first-rounder that's struggled to develop at the next level? He's shown glimpses of greatness this season, and he's confident his "best days" are still to come, but the numbers overall aren't particularly pretty.

Or does this franchise embark on a new chapter in New York, moving on from Darnold after three seasons by taking a quarterback with the No. 2 pick in next spring's draft?

Winning their last two games after a winless start, the Jets have complicated this predicament. Falling out of pole position for the draft with their pair of victories, New York had their shot at Clemson's Trevor Lawrence—the presumptive top pick of this year's class—slip away.

Many have chimed in on this, from pundits to fans online, but this take is certain to grab your attention. 

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Former NFL head coach June Jones believes that the Jets should not only hang on to Darnold, but draft quarterback Zach Wilson out of BYU with the No. 2 pick. Plus, forget about Lawrence being a generational prospect or other available quarterbacks like Ohio State's Justin Fields. Jones would've picked Wilson over Lawrence even with the first selection.

"I believe that if you can get a game changer kind of player, which you should be able to get with that second pick, I'm of the mindset that you never can have too many quarterbacks," Jones told Jets Country in a phone interview this week. "To be quite honest, I really like the Zach Wilson kid. I think I like him better than Trevor Lawrence."

June Jones, head coach of the XFL's Houston Roughnecks, looking on from the sideline this past February

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

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Jones, 67, went on to refer to Wilson as a "bigger and stronger Joe Montana," praising his ability to pass in the pocket and move around with his feet when he needs to. 

Even if he's high on the kid from BYU—who officially declared for the NFL draft on Friday—that doesn't mean this wouldn't be Darnold's team in 2021. To Jones, kicking off training camp with a quarterback competition will only make the third-year signal-caller better.

"If he wants to play, he's going to get better and better and better," Jones said. "I think he has it all to be a good quarterback in the league and from a position of having two franchise type quarterbacks, I think Sam is one and I think this Wilson kid is one.

"I'll use Montana again right there with Steve Young. I think Montana had his best years once [the San Francisco 49ers] signed Steve Young and once Steve Young started to play."

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Jones has plenty of experience working with quarterbacks and building franchises up from some of their worst times. Spending much of the last four decades coaching at different levels, Jones was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for three seasons (from 1994-1996) before leading the San Diego Chargers for one year shortly after ('98). Before that, he worked as an offensive coordinator in Atlanta and quarterbacks coach for a handful of different NFL teams. 

Jones went on to be the head coach at Hawaii for nine seasons, eventually transitioning to the XFL and Canadian Football League in recent years.

Even with ties to other organizations, Jones has had his eye on the Jets throughout this year. He said he's watched about half of New York's games, including both of their two wins.

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That in mind, even as Darnold ranks in the cellar among qualifying quarterbacks this year in QBR (42.2) and passer rating (72.3) entering Week 17, Jones thinks the USC product can turn a corner.

"I thought Donald has played consistently, obviously the last couple games, but I've liked him from the get go," he said. "I think that this end of the season positivity, if they can do it one more time [against the Patriots on Sunday], will carry over to next year for him."

As for Jones, the former head coach is currently working with CoachTube.com where he has a certification course on the Run & Shoot offense. He said the class has been available for just over a month, a tremendous way for coaches at any level to dive deeper into the X's and O's and learn from some of the best football minds in the industry.

"I've even taken a couple phone calls via the website as well," Jones said, reminiscing about how much offenses have evolved in the last 50. "It's pretty thorough. I have NFL films up there, college films, we've got Canadian film where you teach the routes and then they can see it against all the different coverages. I don't think there's another website you can do that with."

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