Al Iannazzone: This high IQ, mature version of Geno Smith has Jets coaches enthralled
Jets quarterback Geno Smith speaks to the media during minicamp on Tuesday in Florham Park, N.J. Credit: Ed Murray
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Geno Smith is not the Jets’ long-term answer at quarterback. He’s the right man, right now.
Smith needs to be that and more to have a chance to return to the Jets next year and for some of the coaches to remain on staff. The reality is Smith is the bridge until the Jets find the franchise quarterback they’ve been chasing for decades. With three first-round picks in next year’s draft, the hope inside One Jets Drive is that guy is coming next year.
Could Smith stick and be that young QB’s mentor? Sure. For now, though, the Jets are Smith’s team, and he has taken ownership of that.
Smith, 35, has earned nothing but high marks from his coaches and teammates for the way he’s carried himself, picked up the offense and is leading the team through OTAs and minicamp. No, the Jets haven’t played a game yet, but they might be in good hands with Smith.
“It’s hard for me right now to not be overly, what’s the right word, effusive with praise,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said on Wednesday. “I am just so impressed by Geno. I cannot express that enough.”
Reich has worked with Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan and Bryce Young as head coach or coordinator. Reich stopped short of making any comparisons, but he called Smith’s preparation “top notch,” his football mind “elite” and said he’s a great communicator.
“I’ve been around a lot of really smart and good quarterbacks,” Reich said. “All I’m going to say is we’re in good shape.”
That’s a leap in the right direction after last year when the Jets handed the keys to the franchise to Justin Fields only to take them back before Thanksgiving. That was a move that could have cost Aaron Glenn his job. He pivoted and turned to the more proven and battle- tested Smith.
So much of the talk outside of this building is about next year’s draft, but this could be a fun season for the Jets and their fans with Smith slinging it. They will look like a modern NFL offense.
Smith still has a strong arm and throws tights spirals to his receivers. Smith will take shots and throw the ball down the field much more than Fields, and sometimes to the other team. But he’s shown some quick chemistry with receivers Garrett Wilson and AD Mitchell and looks forward to what they can do together this season.
“Our entire offense has so much talent and I think they’ve done a great job of just putting this thing together,” Smith said. “I think the magic is in the building. It’s up to us to bring it together.”
Smith believes there’s a “lot to be excited for” and that “all the big things will happen” if the players follow Glenn’s lead and continue to put in the work.
Glenn has full confidence that Smith is the right man to lead his team in 2026 because of his past experiences, good and bad. Smith is a different person in his second go-round with the team that drafted him 13 years ago.
After the Jets released him in 2017, Smith bounced around as a backup. He finally got his chance with Seattle. From 2022-2024, Smith threw for 12,226 yards, 71 touchdowns and 35 interceptions, made two Pro Bowls and led the Seahawks to the playoffs once.
The Jets are banking on getting an improved version of that Geno.
“You can see the maturity in him,” Glenn said. “You can see how he’s grown over the years. He’s really rubbing off on a lot of guys here. I’m excited for what he brings to the table.”
Reich said Smith has “that ‘It’ factor,” which he calculates by combining high confidence with genuine humility.
“He’s got both of those,” Reich said. “The things that he’s been through in life, and in football, I think it put him at a position to put his best foot forward in this next stage of his career.”
The Jets will hold their final minicamp practice on Thursday. The biggest question heading into the break before training camp is who will be Smith’s backup? Bailey Zappe, Brady Cook and rookie Cade Klubnik are on the roster. Klubnik has missed time this spring with back tightness.
Glenn and GM Darren Mougey will discuss whether to bid a Day 2 pick and take a chance on ex-Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who declared for the supplemental draft amid a gambling scandal that resulted in an NCAA ban. Sorsby might have been a first-round pick next year.
“That’s something that I’m sure me and Mouge will talk about,” Glenn said. “But I got quarterbacks here that we’re focused on right now.”
All the focus is on Smith — the right man for the Jets, right now, at least.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
