Steinberg Is Ending the Jets’ Isolation

If you’re planning to attend the Jets’ home opener Sunday against the Browns, it would be a good idea to buy a program. Otherwise, you might have trouble determining the players. This isn’t the same team that trudged off the field last Dec. 23 after being blown out by the Bills, 37-0, in the season finale. The 1990 Jets have 21 new players -- a 45 percent turnover from last season’s 4-12 team.

As the large turnover attests, the Jets have been aggressive in acquiring players by means other than the draft. This represents a new philosophy for the Jets. As a result, their image around the NFL apparently has changed. After years of being perceived as a team that operated in isolation, the Dick Steinberg-led Jets have returned to the mainstream, according to executives around the league.

“With Dick running the show, they’re going to be an aggressive team,” said 49ers vice president John McVay, echoing a common sentiment around the league. “You know that because that’s the way he operates.” Said Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson: “Dick is plugged into the network, and you have to be to have an idea where to find players.”

Browns Coach Bud Carson, who spent four seasons as the Jets’ defensive coordinator, said: “As I look at their starting lineup, about half of them are new faces. They’ve really got the franchise moving.”

Which is a far cry from the old-regime Jets, who employed a four-man football committee to call the shots, instead of a traditional general manager.

One NFL source, who didn’t want to be identified, described the old front-office situation, saying, “Obviously, they were out of it -- WAY out of it. It was a weird situation. (Former president) Jim Kensil didn’t do anything. (Current president) Steve Gutman comes out of a business background, and he’s fine at what he does, but he’s not a football man. So it comes down to (former personnel director) Mike Hickey. The only problem with Mike is that he believed he was smarter and better than everyone else, so he was tough to deal with.”

When he was hired, Steinberg said the Jets projected a “mystique” in NFL circles. That’s a polite way of saying no one in the league had a clue about what went on inside Weeb Ewbank Hall.

Apparently, that has changed. If anything, Steinberg is plugged into the information network. During the off-season, he said he spent an average of five hours a day on the telephone. Obviously, this has made it easier for other clubs to deal with the Jets.

“From an efficiency standpoint, it’s a lot easier to call one individual who has control over all the areas you want to discuss, instead of calling three or four different people,” Peterson said.

Steinberg has been active, that’s for sure. All the moves may not pay off, but as Peterson said, “You can’t make a football team better -- especially a rebuilding team -- without making moves.”

Of the 21 new players, seven are draft choices. That includes starting flanker Rob Moore, who was selected in the July supplemental draft. The Jets forfeited their 1991 first-round pick by selecting Moore, but so far it seems to be worth it.

Besides the draft, the Jets acquired players from a number of sources, including:

--Trades. In the Jets’ first player-for-player trade since the Matt Robinson trade in 1980 -- hard to believe, isn’t it? -- the Jets sent rookie receiver Reggie Rembert (unsigned at the time) to the Bengals in exchange for linebacker Joe Kelly and tackle Scott Jones. Kelly immediately stepped into the starting lineup, while Rembert and Jones are on injured reserve.

Steinberg also unloaded underachieving fullback Roger Vick, a former No. 1 pick, to the Eagles for an undisclosed pick. Two trades in a week. Amazing.

--Plan B. The Jets signed 12 ($720,000 in signing bonuses) and six made the team, including two starters -- tackle Brett Miller and tight end Mark Boyer.

--Waivers. They added needed linebacker depth by claiming Dan Murray, John Galvin and Troy Johnson. “We’re a lot better at linebacker than we were at the start of camp,” Steinberg said. “If Alex Gordon wasn’t hurt, we’d feel comfortable at that position.”

Despite the moves, there’s still work to be done. “The first and second years are frustrating,” Peterson said. “You see the potential, and you want to get there, but there’s only so many steps you can take at once.”