Column: Don’t expect the Jets’ struggles to end any time soon

Any time of year seems like a good time to talk about everybody’s favorite NFL comedy: the New York Jets.

Recently, the Jets have been in trade talks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to trade away Darrelle Revis, arguably their best player.

It seems like everything the Jets do would be a classic sketch on “Saturday Night Live.”

Let me take over as GM and make some moves that will maybe take this team out of oblivion and back into the playoffs.

First and foremost, get rid of all the quarterbacks.

The Jets missed out on expendable quarterbacks such as Alex Smith, Matt Flynn, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Kevin Kolb.

Instead, they signed David Garrard, an injury-prone quarterback who hasn’t started in a few years.

On top of that, both Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow are on the roster.

At this point in the off-season there’s nothing the Jets can do in terms of getting a new quarterback. The NFL Draft would be their last chance, but this draft showcases overrated quarterbacks, and the Jets would be wiser using their ninth overall pick on another position.

Second, use that draft pick for a pass rusher.

Rex Ryan’s defenses don’t work without great pass rushing. The Jets haven’t had much of that, despite the big names on the roster.

LSU defensive end Barkevious Mingo appears to be the best option. Adding him to the fray could make their defensive front great for many years after the Jets used their last two first-round picks on linemen Muhammad Wilkerson and Quinton Coples.

Both players were the top two on the team in sacks in 2012.

Third, do not trade Darrelle Revis.

While Revis has become expendable, and he seems to want to re-negotiate his contract every season, he is the best player on the team and not worth a first-round pick.

This draft class is the worst class in a while, and I wouldn’t bank on finding a suitable replacement for Revis at the 13th pick, which is what Tampa Bay is willing to give up.

The Jets have Antonio Cromartie, who shines as the No. 1 cornerback, but the depth at that position has disappeared after a below-average season from Kyle Wilson and the loss of Marquise Cole after the 2011 season.

And while we don’t know how Revis will heal from his ACL surgery, I believe the risk of keeping him is better than trading him.

Finally, I rebuild with Rex Ryan as head coach.

The Sanchez-Ryan era should be finished, but the Jets are in need of a minor rebuild.

The idea is to get rid of the sideshow. Ryan seems dedicated to making the overall team better, and the best way to do that is to find a new quarterback, not a new coach.

We’ve seen Ryan have success as the Jets coach after taking his team to the Conference Championship in each of his first two seasons.

He’s gotten off track since then, but that success can be recreated.

The defense is very good and the special teams are consistently among the best in the league, but it’s the offense that ruined games for the Jets last year.

New offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is a good fit for this offense.

He will open up the playbook and let whoever the quarterback may be throw more passes downfield instead of consistently running six-yard slant patterns.

With all this being said, the Jets are likely to be among the league’s worst next season.

The ultimate fix is to get rid of the owner, but that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.

­— zstavis@indiana.edu