New Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano isn’t allowed to start coaching his players yet. But there’s nothing stopping Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez from learning the new offense from someone who’s not on the Jets’ coaching staff. And that’s exactly what Sanchez is doing.
Chad Pennington, the former Jets and Dolphins quarterback who played for Sparano in Miami, met with Sanchez recently for a tutoring session in Sparano’s schemes, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports.
In multiple classroom sessions, Pennington went over Sparano’s terminology and an old Dolphins playbook, which presumably looks a lot like the new Jets playbook.
Pennington hasn’t officially retired yet, but he hasn’t been under contract to an NFL team since his deal with the Dolphins expired a year ago, he missed all of 2011 with a knee injury and worked as a TV analyst, and he has played a grand total of four games in the last three seasons. So it’s probably safe to say he’s not coming back.
Then again, if the Jets want a veteran backup who knows the system, maybe signing Pennington would be an option. The Jets are also reportedly interested in former Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne, who also knows Sparano’s system -- and would provide competition for Sanchez in training camp.