Thurman's happy to fade into the background

It was far from a ringing endorsement, but LaDainian Tomlinson expects Mark Sanchez to be the Jets starting quarterback.

“I think early on by default because I don’t believe Geno Smith will be ready to play,” Tomlinson, who played alongside Sanchez for the Jets from 2010-11.

“[Smith] comes from an offense where they rarely huddle; they play from the shotgun, the spread system so I don’t know if he’s ready to take over Marty Mornhinweg’s offense.”

Smith, who was taken in the second round out of West Virginia, and Sanchez both struggled with inconsistency in OTAs, but that was helped along by plenty of drops by an inexperienced receiving corps. The competition will pick up when the team starts training camp at Cortland at the end of July.

“This is a West Coast offense, and really Mark Sanchez has that type of DNA in him because he played at USC in a West Coast offense,” Tomlinson said. “Early on, we probably will see Sanchez take the snaps at the starting spot. But here’s the thing: in preseason, if Mark Sanchez doesn’t show the ability to improve from turning the football over and that race is close between the two, Geno Smith will be the starter.”

The two years Tomlinson played for the Jets saw Sanchez lead them to back-to-back AFC Championship games in the quarterback’s first two seasons in the league. Since Tomlinson retired, Sanchez has struggled with turnovers and the team went 8-8 and 6-10.

“Mark has to start to trust himself. Mark does a great job in the film room but when he comes out on the field, he doesn’t trust what he sees out there in terms of coverages and the timing with his receivers,” Tomlinson said. “If he starts to trust himself and not hesitate in throwing the football, then he possibly could turn his career around. I think it’ll be tough at this point because rarely does a zebra change his stripes.”

Thurman -- who possesses a rare talent for delivering blunt honesty and a well-timed one-liner at the same time -- ran the Jets' secondary the past four years. But now, after his promotion to defensive coordinator this offseason, he's happy to fade into the background. Now the stage is set for McDonald, 48, to improve upon the foundation laid by Thurman and Rex Ryan.

On the surface, the personalities of the seemingly reserved McDonald and the straight-talking Thurman appear to clash. "But once he gets to know you, we're much more alike than we are different," Thurman said. "He thinks he's a comedian, actually, and he doesn't realize he'd be starving if that was his job."

Jets players are quick to point out that it's impossible to compare anyone to Thurman. But McDonald's NFL credentials speak for themselves: 13 seasons, six Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl championship in 1994 with the 49ers.

"He commands immediate respect," second-year safety Josh Bush said. "Whatever he says you're going to listen to right off the bat."

But before McDonald was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, he was in St. Louis and Tempe, Ariz., under the tutelage of Thurman, a position coach for the Cardinals starting in 1988.

The Cardinals traded defensive back Leonard Smith to Buffalo that year in order to get McDonald, the 34th overall pick in the NFL draft, into the starting lineup.

"Not saying Leonard wasn't easy to coach," Thurman said. "But Tim was easier."

And from there a bond was born.

Asked to share what he's learned from Thurman over the years, McDonald smiled and replied, "The game, pretty much."

When Thurman, 57, describes his friendship with McDonald, two simple words come to mind.

"Powerful. Inspirational,'' he said. "He listens. It's important that if you're going to talk to someone that they're listening and your conversation can go back and forth. It's never been one-sided."

After coaching two years at his alma mater, Edison High School in Fresno, Calif., McDonald coached Fresno State's secondary in 2012. But when former Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine left to join the Bills, McDonald called Ryan to interview with the Jets. In January, he was hired.

Soon after, McDonald called Thurman to tell him the good news. "I'm coming to New York to take a bite out of the apple," he said.

But Thurman is adamant that McDonald was on the Jets' radar because of his credentials, not their friendship.

"It wasn't just, 'OK, we're friends. You get the job,' " said Thurman, who helped mold future Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott during their playing days at USC. "He had to go through the process, and in going through the process, he didn't just impress me. I knew what he was made of. But he obviously impressed Rex and the new GM and the other people he had come in contact with. So he earned the job."

Though the Jets' defense ranked second against the pass (189.8) and eighth overall in 2012, McDonald has inherited a secondary with only three players (Antonio Cromartie, Kyle Wilson, Isaiah Trufant) with three years of experience in the system.

The new position coach also doesn't have the luxury of a healthy Darrelle Revis at his disposal.

"Don't get me wrong; Darrelle Revis is a great, great player and will go down in history as one of the best players to ever come through here. But this defense was pretty good last year," McDonald said. "There's some good football players here and we will respond in the ways that we need to respond.

"But you know," he added with a laugh, "I thought he would be here. I thought [safety] LaRon Landry would be here. But I do understand this: In the NFL, the only thing that stays the same is change. No one is immortal . . . As long as we can get the most out of the guys, I really believe that we have a chance to be pretty good."

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