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          NFL Nation

          Jets mailbag: Should Jim Harbaugh be on radar?

          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterNov 22, 2014, 10:00 AM ET
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              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
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          First, a shoutout to the folks in the Buffalo area: Here's hoping for a safe and timely recovery. On to your New York Jets questions:

          @RichCimini: If Rex Ryan is fired, owner Woody Johnson would owe it to the franchise and the fan base to explore Jim Harbaugh, if he shakes free from the San Francisco 49ers. It's not often a coach of his caliber becomes available, so it would be a huge mistake to have a short list without Harbaugh's name on it. It would be a departure for Johnson, whose previous head coaching hires never had any previous experience in the big chair. It also would be costly, easily $7 million per year. There also could be the question of final say. If Harbaugh were to demand control over personnel, what would happen to John Idzik? Johnson probably would have to re-structure the organization, but Harbaugh is a big name with a proven record. No doubt, Harbaugh would have multiple suitors.

          @RichCimini: There will be no Jets-Revis reunion as long as Woody Johnson is the owner. If they really wanted him, they would've made a move last offseason, but Johnson made it clear there was no interest in Darrelle Revis 2.0. Looking ahead, I don't think Revis would even consider the Jets if Ryan isn't the coach. My hunch is that Revis and Ryan will reunite somewhere, but it won't be in New York.

          @RichCimini: Let's put it this way: The Jets have only four cornerbacks under contract for 2015, and two of them will be coming off major surgery -- Dee Milliner and Dexter McDougle. The other two are Darrin Walls and Marcus Williams. So, to answer your question, yes, cornerback has to be a top priority in the offseason. They have to invest in a veteran free agent, maybe two, and they have to be better than Dimitri Patterson. They also have to consider drafting one. They can't leave themselves short two years in a row.

          @RichCimini: I think they will try because his current contract includes a substantial cap hit -- $10.5 million, the amount of his base salary. In case you're wondering, that's the eighth-highest cap charge for a wide receiver in 2015, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Ideally, you'd like to convert base salary into signing bonus, pro-rating the bonus over the final four years of the deal for cap purposes. But the Jets have to ask themselves: Do we want to put guaranteed money in this player's pocket? Percy Harvin has a history of off-the-field problems. He's well-behaved now, but will he revert to his old ways if his financial motivation is gone? Obviously, Harvin could refuse to re-work his deal, forcing the Jets' hand.

          @RichCimini: Yes, I have seen it, and I think it's hilarious. It's so Nick Mangold. I talked to him about it the other day and he said they shot it in one day at a real gas station with real customers. I don't know how the locker room feels about it, but I know what the head coach thinks. Mangold told me Rex Ryan texted one night recently to tell he'd just seen the commercial and liked it a lot.