1. Find a head coach that inspires immediate confidence – There is no template for this, and Douglas will likely find it’s a gut instinct. But think about it: Was anyone ever inspired to believe that Adam Gase was the right man to finally lead this downtrodden franchise to a championship? Did his appearance at One Jets Drive inspire confidence? The same could be asked of Todd Bowles.

Now, Rex Ryan was different. He was a big personality and got people believing right away. That’s not why his teams went to two straight AFC Championship Games, but that confidence, the belief in their leader was a big part.

The Jets need to find that again. They can’t just get an up-and-coming offensive whiz or a good X's and O's guy. They need a big personality because this is a big task in a big room. That doesn’t mean a big name. It doesn’t have to be a Jim Harbaugh. It could be a Don “Wink” Martindale or Eric Bieniemy if Douglas believes they have the personality to be inspiring leaders.

Because gravitas matters. And this franchise is desperately in need of a reason to believe.

2. Settle on a long-term franchise quarterback – This is a tough call with big financial ramifications. If it’s Sam Darnold, he’s probably more ready to win than an untested rookie, but the Jets would likely have to pick up his expensive, 2022, fifth-year option in May. And if it’s not Darnold, if Douglas decides he’s going to draft Ohio State’s Justin Fields or BYU’s Zach Wilson at No. 2, then he’s got to trade Darnold someplace else.

He’s going to have to figure it out sooner than later, too, because when he starts shopping for free agents – especially at receiver – any player with options is going to want to know who is playing quarterback. Some might not want to sign on for rebuilding around a rookie, and that’s fine. But none of them will want to sign on to uncertainty.

So they’ve got 2 1/2 months, really, to do their background work, watch the film, and maybe spend a week at the NFL scouting combine – whatever that looks like this year. And they have to get it right, because the wrong choice will set them back at least 4-5 years.

3. Get that quarterback a true No. 1 receiver – This is actually the easiest part of their offseason because the Jets are flush with cap space (about $72 million before cuts, according to OverTheCap.com) and staring at one of the best free agent wide receiver classes in ages. And if they strike out there, they can always use the No. 2 overall pick in the draft on LSU star receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

But with their bankroll, they should absolutely be in on this free agent class, which currently includes Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson, Kenny Golladay, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Will Fuller and Corey Davis. Pair one of them with the emerging Denzel Mims and maybe even slot receiver Jamison Crowder, and suddenly the Jets have the makings of a dangerous passing game.

Any one of those free agents would be the best receiver the Jets have had since Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker each topped 1,000 yards back in 2015.

4. Add more big, young bodies to the offensive line – Douglas always knew it would take more than one year to rebuild the Jets’ line, and it’s possible only two current starters will be back – left tackle Mekhi Becton and center Connor McGovern. The Jets could make cases for keeping guards Alex Lewis and Greg Van Roten and right tackle George Fant, but it wouldn’t cost much for the Jets to move on from them, either.

The best solution for the Jets would be to add youth. And if they do get a receiver in free agency and decide to stick with Darnold, it’s going to be hard to pass up Oregon tackle Penei Sewell in the draft. Having Becton as Sewell as bookends for the next five years or more would be a heck of a place to start.

There are free agents to watch, too, such as guard Brandon Scherff and Joe Thuney, but Douglas avoided the big-money linemen last offseason. It seems likely he’ll do that again so he can spend his cap space in other places.

5. Find that elusive, dominant pass rusher – This has been cut and paste from every year-end Jets story in what seems like forever. They need to find that one guy capable of 12-15 sacks or more, that forces offenses to change their strategies and keeps offensive coordinators up at night. They need to find that guy that Leonard Williams was always supposed to be.

Unfortunately for the Jets, there doesn’t seem to be a Chase Young or a Bosa waiting for them at No. 2 in this draft, which means they’ll likely have to look to free agency. And top pass rushers don’t often get there, either getting long-term deals or the franchise tags from their current teams.

An exception could be in Baltimore, where it’s unlikely they’ll keep both Yannick Ngakoue and Matthew Judon, and it’s possible they won’t keep either of them. And if they don’t, the Jets should pounce. The 25-year-old Ngakoue has eight sacks this season and 45.5 in his five-year career and will cost about $18-20 million per season. Judon is 28 and has 34.5 sacks over the same span, so the Jets might be able to get him for less, maybe $14-16 million per year.

But they really need to try to get one of them. If they don’t, there might not be any other pass rushers to get.

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