Who Says You Can't Go Home...Again?

by k1ngm0j1 | 4 years ago | 2 Comments

Man oh man! What a whirlwind these past several hours have been, lets go back.


After leaving New Orleans & writing my heartfelt goodbye I landed at JFK Airport to head home to Long Island to spend some time at home before my life would change yet again.  I spent the last few days looking at Mock drafts before our new CBA kicked in & the "RZ Coaching Carousel" began.  I knew with my track record I would have a couple of options from some teams. 

Not going to lie, I was pretty nervous at 8pm when the Coaching Carousel began. All of those nerves completly went away when I saw that New Jersey area code & a familar number popped up on the phone.  I knew finally it was time...To Come Home!

I couldn't answer that phone quick enough, Jets owner Woody Johnson & his brother Chris Johnson were on the phone & they expressed their interest in bringing me back.  My tenure in NY was a succesful one & as we know this is the place I won my first championship. After succesful stints in Green Bay & New Orleans we all felt it was time to come back home. 

I jumped in the car & started the drive over to 1 Jets Drive in Florham Park.  I knew who my first call had to be & man are we both pumped to be reuinted. Sam Darnold will be my quarterback once again & I am beyond excited. I also spoke with all of the incoming draft picks because obviously these guys thought they would be playing for someone else. 

1st round pick Mekhi Becton had a great talk about what to expect in the offense. His tape jumps out at you and he will be a staple for this team for years to come.  Getting Denzel Mims in round 2 was huge for us as well. A big speedy reciever who will stretch the field for us & be someone Sam can grow with.  I have big big plans for Mims. 

Somehow we were able to snag S Ashtyn Davis out of Cal. Let me tell you pairing this guy with Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye & the rest of the defense is going to be incredible.  Davis will be used all over the field similarly to how you have seen Honey Badger used in his career.  We were also able to snag DE Jabari Zuniga out of Florida.  A great DE in college, Zuniga will have the opportunity to start for us on day 1. I was able to have great conversations with the rest of the draft class & some of the veterans on the team.  Reuniting with guys like Jamison Crowder, Lev Bell & CJ Mosley has been awesome.  

Its a different feeling opening those big glass doors & walking into the Jets facility. A level of comfort and excitement and nerves all hit at once.  I sat down with the Johnsons, we talked about gameplanning & I picked up that pen & signed that contract.  A tear ran down my face and what a relief it was.  It was funny Woody asked me who else offered you contracts & honestly I am not even sure.  I know my agent fielded the rest of the calls but I didnt even ask.  I saw the one number I was waiting to see & I ran with it.  There is no place I would rather be. Getting up on Sunday, smelling that thick smog that is hovering over MetLife, its something you never forget and something I will always cherish.  

I was nervous leading up to today and believe me there is a lot of pressure for me to come back and win here.  But winning at home is so much sweeter then winning everywhere else.  I know a lot of people don't end up going back to teams that they have already had history with. But for the first time in a long time I can finally say that I am home and man does it feel good to say. 

Head Coach of the New York Jets - Moji