The Jets and quarterback Sam Darnold are 3-7 at their bye week. So let's look ahead to the offseason -- it only seems reasonable at this point, with coach Todd Bowles surely a goner -- in this week's Jets mailbag.

Onward with your questions and our answers ...

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Don Wright | AP

Among the topics in this week's mailbag -- running back Le'Veon Bell, who is going to hit free agency in 2019.

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Ira in Staten Island: While Le'Veon Bell would be fun to watch, I wouldn't go after him. Not worth the headache. Thoughts?

It's an interesting debate, but you could make the case that he is worth the headache for a team like the Jets that needs a legit offensive playmaker and game-breaking running back. There are pros and cons to Bell. He is still young. He turns 27 in February. But he has a fairly high amount of mileage on his body -- 1,541 career touches, including 1,229 carries. Then again, he is quite productive. From 2014-17, he ran for 91.3 yards per game (4.5 per carry) and had 27 rushing touchdowns and seven receiving touchdowns. He can be a disruptive, troubled player. No doubt about that. And he is going to cost a lot of money. Probably too much money. But that's the cost of doing business in free agency when you draft as poorly as the Jets have lately.

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Other than Darnold, what couple of players do you think the Jets are evaluating for the future over the next six games? — Gary Feder (@GFeder1) November 14, 2018

I presume you're referring to younger players here. Coach Todd Bowles is trying to save his job, so he's not going to insert younger players just for the sake of getting a look at them. I get what you're saying, though. Ideally, the Jets would give running back Eli McGuire some more looks, as they try to formulate their plan for next offseason. (Keep Isaiah Crowell or cut him?) Parry Nickerson is another guy to watch, though I don't see Bowles benching slot cornerback Buster Skrine for Nickerson, who could be Skrine's replacement next season. Skrine is in the final year of his contract.

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Ugh, back to normal Jets fandom where our attention shifts to who will be our next first round pick in November. What position group should us fans focus on for our 1st round pick? I’m thinking Edge or OT. — James Ash (@JamesAs17028619) November 14, 2018

You are thinking right. The Jets currently hold the fifth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, though that could (and probably will) change. Edge rusher and offensive line are the Jets' two biggest needs. They could get an elite edge rusher like Demarcus Lawrence in free agency, but they won't find a long-term offensive tackle solution in free agency. Don't be surprised if the Jets pick an offensive tackle like Alabama's Jonah Williams in Round 1. Kelvin Beachum probably should be cut after this season.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Will Le'Veon Bell be playing for the #Jets in 2019? — Jake Spriggs (@SpriggsyFresh) November 14, 2018

OK, so you want a straight-up prediction here. We presented the pros and cons above. But, yes, I think the Jets do wind up landing Bell in free agency. Just a shot-in-the-dark prediction at this point. The Jets are currently scheduled to have about $107 million in salary cap space to use in free agency next offseason (second-most in the league), so they'll certainly be able to pay Bell, as they try to put some weapons around Sam Darnold.

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Any Chance We go AJ Brown in the first round ? Need Playmakers and Tate won’t sign with us. — Argenis Rodriguez (@Celtics99_) November 14, 2018

Yes, the Jets definitely need playmakers. And I suppose they could draft a top-end receiver like Mississippi's A.J. Brown in Round 1. (Jermaine Kearse is probably gone, and Quincy Enunwa could leave in free agency, too.) But ultimately, I think it is more likely the Jets go with an edge rusher or offensive tackle in Round 1. Brown is a really good player, though -- 1,047 yards and five touchdowns this season, compared to 1,252 and 11 last year. And the Jets need a No. 1 receiver, since Robby Anderson has yet to prove himself consistently worthy of that role.

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How can Bowles possibly keep his job after the team has regressed and didn’t even show up at home vs a bad Buffalo team? There may be no viable in-house options but it is crystal clear that his time as HC is up. Why wait and risk the health and development of Sam and others? — John Flesch (@ganggreen82) November 14, 2018

The Jets obviously opted to not fire Bowles during the bye week. He surely is a goner after the season. But in terms of the reasons for perhaps firing Bowles during the bye week, I don't think the health and development of Darnold and other players is a legitimate reason. How exactly would Darnold develop any differently if Bowles was fired? It's not like the Jets were also going to fire offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who is Darnold's position coach. Firing Bowles would have been about big-picture accountability and trying to light a fire under a seemingly unmotivated team. I don't think Darnold's health or development would have had anything to do with it.

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Any head coaching favorites? Is maccagnan in any danger too? — Justyn Gordon (@JustynGordon) November 14, 2018

You could make a case for general manager Mike Maccagnan being worthy of an axing after the season, too, but I think he stays. We weighed the pros and cons of a Maccagnan firing right here.

The Jets' focus, for their next head coach, should be on an offensive-minded guy who can develop Darnold. John DeFilippo and Matt LaFleur -- Vikings' and Titans' offensive coordinator, respectively -- are a couple interesting candidates to watch. If the Jets want to go to the college level, could they pry Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma?

Here is a more thorough rundown of coaching candidates to watch.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Any chance the Jets bring back Pennington and Scott in coaching roles? — TheJetCAM (@Jetcam76) November 14, 2018

Chad Pennington and Bart Scott returning as position coaches? I don't see it happening. Probably zero shot on Scott. Pennington maybe. But he doesn't have any NFL or college head coaching experience at all. Pennington is in his first year as a high school head coach in Kentucky, which is a neat story, but doesn't really qualify him to develop Darnold.

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Possible replacements for Bowles and/or Bates?



Is Macc safe?



Pick one. Enunwa or RA lost to free agency. Only one stays. — Ana's Botanica (@ana_botanica) November 14, 2018

We mentioned the Bowles replacements above, and also mentioned our thoughts on Maccagnan's future.

Since the Jets are likely to get an offensive-minded head coach who probably will call the plays, they're probably looking at landing a less-experienced guy to be the offensive coordinator, since he wouldn't be calling plays in this situation. Maybe someone like Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor or his younger brother, Eagles quarterbacks coach Press Taylor. Both guys would be considered out-of-the-box head coaching hires, too.

The Jets absolutely could retain both Enunwa and Anderson. Remember, while Enunwa is an unrestricted free agent, Anderson will be a restricted free agent. So the Jets won't have to pay a ton to keep him around.

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Do you think the #Jets completely clean house from the GM down, or is Maccagnan's job safe due to landing Sam Darnold? Should they focus on defense in free agency and the offense in the #NFLDraft? — JetUp Bleeding Green Podcast 🏈🎙 (@jubgpodcast) November 14, 2018

Ownership probably wanting to see more of Darnold before they make a final decision on Maccagnan is what likely will contribute to Maccagnan staying. That's a good point, yes. That plays in Maccagnan's favor.

I don't think it's that simple -- defense in free agency, offense in the draft. Expect the Jets to go after Bell in free agency. And if they don't land an elite edge rusher like Lawrence, they could target edge rusher in the draft.

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If you were either the new GM or the new HC of the Jets where or with what actions would you start to get the Jets fixed, finally? — Luna Staernberger (@LunaSunnyStar7) November 14, 2018

Here's a rough checklist ...

The Jets need to bring in an offensive-minded head coach to develop Darnold. That has to be priority No. 1.

The offensive line needs to be addressed, specifically left tackle, and probably in the draft. Time for the Jets to get younger and better up front.

The Jets need to get a game-breaking running back to develop the rushing game -- combined with an improved offensive line -- and take some pressure off Darnold.

Finding a No. 1 receiver certainly wouldn't hurt.

Oh, and we can't forget the lingering problem of edge rushing woes. That has plagued the Jets in recent seasons.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Sure. The Jets could look at any of those elite defensive end/edge rusher types -- Ed Oliver, Nick Bosa, Clelin Ferrell, Rashan Gary. Those appear to be the big names to watch right now.

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Rex seemed to be auditioning for his old job back the other day. Would the Johnson's even consider bringing him back? What other HC Candidates do you expect the Jets to interview? — Chris Burzawa🏈 (@Murrell2878) November 14, 2018

It would be one of the dumbest decisions in the history of the Jets -- and they've done so many dumb things -- if they brought Rex Ryan back in any capacity. Not going to happen.

We mentioned some of those top coaching candidates above. Here are more to watch.

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In history, are rookie head coaches/gm’s pretty hesitant to give a player a massive contract in free agency? I wonder if that’ll play next season with Leveon — Chris Cardenas (@chriscardenas88) November 14, 2018

I don't think so. Remember, Maccagnan gave Darrelle Revis that massive (and ill-advised, as it turned out) contract in 2015, when he was a rookie general manager. Whoever the Jets' general manager is next season -- Maccagnan or someone else -- that person needs to understand that the organization isn't just starting out with a rebuilding process, but rather, entering Year 3 of that process. (And Maccagnan obviously gets this.) The Jets need to start showing some actual results in 2019. Time to go for it. Obviously, there are pros and cons to Bell, as we mentioned above. So going for it doesn't mean the Jets have to sign Bell. It's worth considering, though.

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Which Left Tackle do you like as a Jets top 7 pick in the draft? Jonah Williams (Alabama), Greg Little (Ole Miss), David Edwards (Wisconsin), etc. — N Nierenberg (@nnnets22) November 14, 2018

All good options, but I think Williams is the top one right now. Still a lot of time for the pre-draft process to unfold, though. Tackle-needy teams are going to take a long, hard look at all of these guys.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Eh, I don't think so. The Jets ideally should have a quarterbacks coach who has coached in the NFL, even if that means the offensive coordinator again doubling as the quarterbacks coach. (We think the Jets' next head coach, as an offensive-minded guy, probably will want to call the plays.) Plus, if McCown retires, he might want to return home to spend time with his family before he dives into a coaching career. His sons play football, and I'm sure he doesn't want to miss their high school careers.

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thoughts on the taylor brothers as HC and OC next year — Jace Macfie (@Jetnationunited) November 14, 2018

You're referring, of course, to Zac Taylor and Press Taylor, who were mentioned above. Zac currently works as the Rams' quarterbacks coach, while Press coaches quarterbacks for the Eagles. Zac is 35, Press 30. Zac is probably a better head coaching candidate, but he has minimal offensive coordinator experience -- part of 2015 as an interim coordinator with the Dolphins and all of 2016 at the University of Cincinnati. I think both are out-of-the-box head coaching candidates at this point. Either could make a good coordinator under an offensive-minded head coach like John DeFilippo, with Zac probably being more qualified for that role. But remember, the Rams and Eagles can block them from being interviewed by the Jets for a coordinator job. That wouldn't happen for a head coaching job.

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Why is Macc safe? — seaver15 (@seaver_15) November 14, 2018

One big reason is Darnold. Jets ownership likely will let more time play out with Darnold before they make a determination on Maccagnan, who has staked so much of his future with the Jets on the Darnold pick.

We review some more reasons to keep (and fire) Maccagnan right here.

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Predictions? Hmmm. OK. Well, I think the Jets will land Bell. They're certainly going to go hard after Lawrence or Dante Fowler and probably will land one of them. They'll finally address the offensive line in the draft, perhaps by drafting an offensive tackle high. I think they'll have the same general manager and obviously a new head coach. Early call on who that coach will be -- DeFilippo, who will have other suitors, remember.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.