With the regular season coming to an end, the New York Jets are finally starting to look for someone to replace as head coach. The team will reportedly interview two candidates in the coming weeks to replace Robert Saleh, who was fired in October after a 2-3 start.

One of the candidates is former Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, who is scheduled to interview with the Jets this week, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Rivera coached the Panthers from 2011 to 2019 and spent four years at the helm in Washington before being fired in 2023.

The Jets’ other interviewee is a familiar face: former Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who told 880AM ESPN New York that he expects to speak to the team about the vacancy after the regular season ends.

The Jets, who are 4-12 and long-exited from the postseason, will play their final game of the year next weekend against the Miami Dolphins. After Saleh was fired, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich took over as interim head coach.

Rivera was a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2013 and 2015 after leading the Panthers to 12-4 and 15-1 finishes, respectively. Rivera led his teams to the playoffs five times in 13 seasons with the two franchises; In 2015, he led Carolina to Super Bowl 50, but fell to the Denver Broncos.

Ryan, who coached the Jets from 2009 to 2014 and coached the Buffalo Bills for two seasons, led the Jets to two playoff appearances early in his tenure as head coach. These appearances were the last time the Jets made the playoffs; At 14 years, the team is experiencing the longest active postseason drought in professional sports.

Ryan has not coached since being fired from the Bills in 2016, but joined ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown in 2017 as an analyst.

Although the team has conducted interviews to replace general manager Joe Douglas, who was fired in November, the Jets have yet to interview anyone for the open coaching position despite firing Saleh in October. The new head coach will have a lot to do with this Jets team, including figuring out what to do with struggling quarterback Aaron Rodgers.