When ranking the eight available NFL coaching vacancies, the biggest factor for me is the quarterback position. It shouldn't be surprising to see the Jets, with Sam Darnold on a rookie contract and showing great promise in 2018, sitting near the top of the list. 

So it shouldn't be surprising to find out, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, that the Jets are angling to land one of the biggest fish in the coaching pond, former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, who was fired after Green Bay lost to Arizona with a few weeks left in the season.

In additional McCarthy news, he apparently declined to interview in Arizona, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media. McCarthy didn't decline because he wanted to take a year off from coaching, which has been floated out there as a possibility. Instead, it's believed that McCarthy is simply "looking for the right opportunity."

Would the Jets be right for McCarthy? It's a pretty choice job right now, which is impressive considering it's been a while since the Jets went to the postseason (2010) and there has been a lot of turnover at the coaching position in recent years, with the Jets firing both Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles in recent years. 

The presence of Darnold is a huge plus: taken No. 3 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, he didn't require the Jets giving up an extra first-round pick to acquire him (although they did give up some second rounders), he's on a cheap rookie contract and he showed a ton of promise in his first season with the Jets. Darnold had ups and downs, but every rookie quarterback does. Anyone paying attention to what he did on the field should be buying Darnold stock. 

Additionally, the Jets have nice young defensive pieces like Leonard Wiliams and Jamal Adams as well as talent at the receiver position in Robby Anderson (strong down the stretch this year) and Quincy Enunwa (recently extended).

There's building blocks here and ownership should be considered a plus now that Christopher Johnson is running the show in New York. Mike Maccagnan could potentially find himself on the hot seat as the GM if the team struggled in the next couple of years, but landing someone like McCarthy would likely ease any concerns there. 

Adding McCarthy would be a coup for the Jets and feel a lot like Andy Reid going to Kansas City. A proud franchise that's down on its luck snaring a coach who won a Super Bowl (or came close in Reid's case) and is renowned for working with quarterbacks. Plus, developing a first-round pick is going to buy everyone some time. Just McCarthy being interested in the Jets shows things are going in the right direction.

There's some concern about McCarthy updating his offensive approach, but he's had too much success at the NFL level for him to be taken off the board because his relationship with Aaron Rodgers got stale in Green Bay.