to prospective head coaching candidates begins with Sam Darnold.Everything else is a distant second.Sure White Kelvin Beachum Jerseys , being in the New York/New Jersey area is an obvious attraction, and Jets chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson spun his own take on a classic line by saying earlier this week that if you succeed in the Big Apple, "you're a freaking legend." But it's hard to even get close to that status without a franchise quarterback. A quick look through Jets history is all it takes to prove that. It's Broadway Joe — and a 50-year wait for a Super Bowl return. And counting.Darnold, though, provides promise for frustrated fans that he might be The One. He's a 21-year-old, redheaded symbol of hope in a smart, athletic and still-developing quarterback who has his sights firmly set on being great.That's what will excite coaching candidates and free agents the most, with the fact the Jets and general manager Mike Maccagnan have about $100 million in salary cap space to play with this offseason and the No. 3 overall draft pick an added bonus."Now we're going to be able to build with Sam," Johnson said, "build around Sam and with some great players we have on this team already."The Jets' brass was in Kansas City on Wednesday to kick off the team's interviews, sitting down with Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. New York is also expected to schedule meetings with the likes of former Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy, Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Dallas passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Kris Richard, former Detroit and Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell and USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Whoever is hired as Todd Bowles' replacement will report directly to Johnson and not Maccagnan, a structure the owner believes works. Maccagnan will have a major say in the hire, though, working closely with Johnson and VP of player development Brian Heimerdinger to find the coach who will attempt to end the team's eight-year postseason drought.And Kelvin Beachum Jerseys 2019 , with Darnold leading the way."The person doesn't have to be an offensive- or defensive-minded coach, per se," Maccagnan said. "But we definitely want to make sure they have a plan in place to develop our young quarterback in Sam Darnold."Darnold had an up-and-down rookie season after being drafted with the No. 3 overall pick. He was the second quarterback selected, two spots after Baker Mayfield went to Cleveland — which is looking for a coach of its own and also has a potential face of the franchise as a major selling point.The final stats for Darnold are mediocre, at best: 2,865 yards, 57.7 percent completion rate, 17 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 77.6 quarterback rating in 13 games. But, it's the way he finished that has the organization feeling so good.In the four games after returning from a foot injury that sidelined him for three contests, Darnold was 80 of 125 (64 percent) for 931 yards and six touchdowns with one INT. He showed clear improvement in his ability to see the field, read defenses, be smart with the football and wasn't as skittish behind an offensive line that struggled mightily early in the season."I thought in the beginning of the year, I took a while to get comfortable and then once I got comfortable in the offense and how things were, I felt very confident when I was out there," Darnold said. "Again White Morris Claiborne Jerseys , just going to keep growing and keep trying to make those strides and watch the tape. See how I can get better and move forward from there."Darnold won't have a direct role in the decision-making process, but hoped to chat with management to share his perspective on the situation. And, the Jets are planning to give him some preliminary face-time with the man who might be his coach."Given the opportunity, I'd like the potential head coaches that come through here to have a chance to spend a little time with him just so they get a feel for Sam," Maccagnan said. "I do think that's actually one of the attractive parts of our job is that we have some good, young players. Again, we still have things we need to do and improve upon, but we have a lot of salary cap space. We have our draft picks and the idea of potentially working with a young quarterback like Sam is an attractive thing."Darnold isn't concerned about the potential changes that coincide with the arrival of a new coach. He can adapt, he insisted, and simply wants to win."I'm confident that whatever offense is here and whoever the coordinator is, whether it's the head coach or an offensive coordinator," Darnold said, "I'm confident in my ability to be able to run an offense and lead that way."The Jets' final pick will be linked with Darnold moving forward — and maybe for many years. The young quarterback would like this to be the last coaching change of his NFL career."You always want someone to come in here and provide stability and hopefully we can win a lot of games together," Darnold said. "That's always the goal." FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Sam Darnold is getting closer to being back under center for the New York Jets.The rookie quarterback was limited at practice Wednesday, a positive sign after he had sat out team drills since injuring his right foot more than three weeks ago.“Felt really good today, got some action Morris Claiborne Jerseys 2019 ,” Darnold said after practice. “So, I’m just going to continue to do what I can to get better and see where we go from here.”Darnold acknowledged his foot was “a little sore,” but has his sights set on being ready to play Sunday at Tennessee after missing the Jets’ past two games.“I’m hopeful,” he said. “But at the same time, just seeing how I feel every single day, assess it after every practice and we’ll go from there.”Darnold strained his foot against Miami on Nov. 4 and hadn’t previously thrown passes during quarterback drills during the half-hour window the media are allowed to watch until Wednesday. He said he took some snaps in team periods, and he and the team will continue to assess the injury throughout the week.Darnold added that he had no issues with planting his foot or running. The team was scheduled to check in with him later Wednesday and again in the morning Thursday before practice to determine the next step.“Yeah, definitely coming back after today and actually practicing on it being on it today, cutting and doing my drops, I’m interested in seeing how it feels tomorrow,” he said. “I’m pretty optimistic about it, though.”Coach Todd Bowles was encouraged that Darnold was able to do more than he did last week during practice.“We’ll see how the week goes,” Bowles said. “He did a little bit today. We’ll see how he progresses during the week.”Darnold didn’t feel all that rusty despite the long layoff from practice.“It felt pretty normal, for the most part,” he said. “Yeah, there were some times where I felt like my feet weren’t necessarily quick enough, but that just comes with a couple of more practices. But I felt really good White Josh McCown Jerseys , for the most part.”Josh McCown has started the Jets’ past two games, but was also limited as he deals with a sore back and right hand, which he cut during New York’s loss to New England last Sunday.“It’s coming along,” McCown said of his back and hand. “Just taking it a day at a time and just following the steps that they tell me to go through to get back and get ready to go.”McCown was still the first quarterback taking snaps during quarterback drills, followed by Darnold and Davis Webb. The 39-year-old veteran has thrown one touchdown pass and three interceptions while filling in for Darnold.Darnold still leads the NFL with 14 interceptions despite missing two games, and struggled in the three games he played before his injury. The No. 3 overall draft pick has had to balance making sure he’s completely healthy with being eager to get back on the field — even lobbying to play — to finish his rookie season on a positive note.“Yeah, I want to play really bad,” he said. “But at the same time, I know that it’s a process and I’ve just got to go about protocol and understand exactly what I need to do to get better.”NOTES: Darnold prompted some loud chuckles from reporters when he was asked about the helicopter hit McCown took to cap a 10-yard run for a first down in the third quarter against New England. “It was funny because right when that happened, Davis on the sideline, he buckles his chin strap. It was funny to see Josh kind of go after it because we all know the competitor that he is, so that was awesome.” … S Marcus Maye didn’t practice with shoulder and thumb injuries. Bowles did not rule out the second-year safety ending up on injured reserve. … WR Robby Anderson (ankle) and RB Trenton Cannon (hamstring) also didn’t practice. … WR Quincy Enunwa (ankle) and LB Jordan Jenkins (shoulder) were limited.