It's been a long time since a football team in New York has hoisted a championship of their own.
In fairness, it's been a long time since any of the four core sports in North America have seen a championship come out of New York City. The last title came courtesy of the New York Giants in 2011.
For an organization like the New York Jets, they own the longest title drought of any New York-based team at this point. And they just had to sit and watch a college program reach the top of their respective mountain before them.
The St. John's Red Storm won the Big East Conference Tournament Saturday night in their 82-66 victory over Creighton at Madison Square Garden. It was the first conference tournament that the Red Storm have won since 2000 - a 25-year drought came to a close thanks to one hire.
And that one hire is the exact lesson the Jets should take away from a lesson like St. John's is dishing out.
When St. John's hired Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Rick Pitino to run the program, the move was universally celebrated around the country. While the Red Storm did not reach the NCAA Tournament in Pitino's first year at the helm, the program brought in several top recruits and has already won more games this season than any other team since the 1985-86 team led by Lou Carnesecca.
So what's the lesson the Jets can learn from "New York's Team?"
Coaching matters.
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St. John's wasn't necessarily an embarrassment of a program under Mike Anderson, but they also weren't true title contenders in a competitive Big East conference. The minute Pitino walked in the building, the program seemed to turn everything around.
Including the quality of play.
The Jets hired a new head coach in Aaron Glenn this offseason. He doesn't have the kind of pedigree that Pitino has built throughout his near half-century career as a coach.
But if he can instill the kind of discipline and quality of play turnaround that Pitino has brought to St. John's, the Jets may be the next team to celebrate a championship in New York.
At least the Red Storm would have some company in that regard.
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This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 8:27 AM.