By Josh Katzowitz

While the Jets supposedly are questioning whether Mark Sanchez is actually their quarterback of the future (a query that likely doesn’t bode well for Sanchez), observers and fans also have been pointing at the team’s offensive coordinator as somebody who needs to go.

That would be Brian Schottenheimer, whose offense ranks 27th in yards gained and, strangely, ninth in points scored. It’s strange because, in Schottenheimer’s five-year tenure as the team’s offensive coordinator, the points scored is tied for the Jets best performance under him but the yards gained ranks as the worst.

Either way, Schottenheimer has heard the whisperings, and he tries to ignore the rumblings that Rex Ryan should ax him.

Writes Rapid Reporter Lisa Zimmerman, “When asked how he can take all of the criticism in stride so well, OC Brian Schottenheimer cited growing up in the NFL and being the son of a coach as being a big advantage in being able to avoid worrying too much about what might happen down the road. He recalled his father, Marty, being fired after a 14-2 season.”

While Schottenheimer took the blame for the team’s offensive woes, he also said he doesn’t think Sunday’s game vs. the Dolphins will make or break his tenure. After all, we were talking about this topic 11 months ago and Schottenheimer seemingly didn’t have a problem returning this year.

"I think however we play this weekend, we’ll go back and we’ll look at it, and we’ll give a full evaluation of how we play," Schottenheimer said, via the Newark Star Ledger. "I am not worried about that at all. I want to play well, we need to play well, because there is certainly a chance for us to still make the playoffs. ... But again, I don’t worry about that."

One positive working in Schottenheimer’s favor, perhaps? The fact the team extended his contract two months ago until the end of 2013. But hey, if the team lets him go, there’s not much Schottenheimer can do about it at this point.

"I've been fired before," he said. "If you get in this profession, you're going to get fired. And the guys that sit there and worry about it are the guys that generally end up getting fired, because they are sitting there worried about it."




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