Hall of Famer Steve Young believes the New York Jets and former offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur mishandled quarterback Zach Wilson.
“Zach doesn’t need tough love,” Young explained during an appearance on ESPN New York’s “The Michael Kay Show,” as shared by Stacey Mickles of The Comeback. “He doesn’t need somebody to see how tough he is. He needs a big brother — a young, knowledgeable innovator, someone who he can trust and says to him, ‘You know what, despite everything that’s happened, Zach, I believe in you. You can get this done.’ Zach needs that. Mike kind of kept him at arm’s length and kind of gave him the tough love aspect, and I don’t think that’s really useful for Zach.”
Wilson made it known last month that he reached out to Young, Kurt Warner and Drew Brees after head coach Robert Saleh benched the 23-year-old for his poor play and worse attitude in Week 11. Young and Wilson both played for the BYU Cougars during their collegiate careers.
The Jets and LaFleur “mutually” agreed to part ways earlier this week after the Arizona Cardinals fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury on “Black Monday.” The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt and others have mentioned Kingsbury as a possible LaFleur replacement, and Young was in favor of having the 43-year-old work with Wilson.
“Zach’s problems are not physical. Zach’s problems are expectations and how he deals with expectations,” Young added.
Wilson’s future with the Jets is very much up in the air. Team owner Woody Johnson said on Thursday he “absolutely” would spend big money to land a proven veteran signal-caller this offseason, and Saleh declared the Jets “are going to be aggressive as heck when it comes to quarterback play and making sure we do everything we can to satisfy that position.”
To Wilson’s credit, he vowed earlier this week to make “life hell in practice every day” for any quarterback the Jets have on the depth chart heading into next season.
