"I talked with Laveranues about [15] days ago," said Tannenbaum. "He's here. He's under contract. I expect him to be here this year, and that's kind where things are with Laveranues right now."

Is Tannenbaum concerned that the Coles situation could turn into a repeat of last year's Pete Kendall ugliness?

"You try to learn from every experience as you go through them," said Tannenbaum. "I have a lot of respect for what Laveranues has done. I expect him to be here to help us for the foreseeable future."

Newcomers Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace and Alan Faneca all signed more lucrative deals than Coles. Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum did offer to guarantee the final two years of Coles contract ($11 million), which he didn't have to do. That didn't seem to appease Coles.