Jets' GM search: Can they finally get one right? Well ...
One week after a front-office shake-up that confirmed a chasm in the organization and resulted in ugly fallout and behind-the-scenes finger-pointing from rival factions, the New York Jets will attempt to make themselves whole and rebuild their credibility with a hire that will define CEO Christopher Johnson's legacy.
They need a general manager. He has to be a shrewd talent evaluator. He has to be a forward thinker. He has to be a strong leader. He has to be compatible with coach Adam Gase. What he can't be is a yes man to Gase.cheap nfl jerseys china nike
The Jets have put themselves in a difficult situation, and they can't blame anyone but themselves. How they got to this point is yesterday's news. What's important is what comes next. For better or worse, Johnson sided with Gase over former GM Mike Maccagnan in their family feud, and now it's on Johnson as the leader of the franchise to maximize Gase's chances for success. He can do that by hiring someone who knows and can work with Gase. To pair him with a stranger (again) would be too much of a risk.
"Arranged marriages rarely work," an opposing general manager said this week.
The Jets should know that by now, considering their track record with failed coach-GM unions: Rex Ryan-John Idzik (a 12-20 record), Todd Bowles-Maccagnan (24-40) and Gase-Maccagnan (0-0). The franchise employed a search firm for the Idzik hire and used consultants Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf for Bowles-Maccagnan -- a couple of Casserly associates from his NFL past. The only thing Bowles and Maccagnan had in common, other than Casserly, was they were born and raised in New Jersey.
This time, the Jets will conduct their own search, with Johnson, Gase and Hymie Elhai leading the way. Elhai, the senior vice president of business affairs and general counsel, has a respected voice within the organization. In terms of a football background, Gase will be the only person in the room who qualifies.china nike nfl jerseys cheap
Johnson, on the job for only two years as the acting owner, finds himself on a slippery slope -- and as a heli-skier, he knows treacherous slopes. He must appease his coach while finding a free-thinking GM who won't allow himself to be pushed around by Gase -- who might or might not see himself as the de facto GM. On Monday, Gase insisted he just wants to coach the team, nothing more. Good idea, considering his personnel record with the Miami Dolphins, where he had control over a mediocre roster.
Named the Jets' interim GM, Gase has made a handful of roster moves in recent days, but none of them qualifies as a franchise-altering move. So, no, this isn't Alexander Haig running around the White House and declaring: "I'm in charge."
The most successful teams work in a collaborative manner, with the top decision-makers philosophically aligned. The Jets haven't had that kind of simpatico arrangement since Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum, who enjoyed playoff runs in 2009 and 2010 before things went sideways. Speaking at the NFL owners meetings in late March, Gase admitted he needs time to get comfortable with a new GM, saying it wasn't until his third year in Miami that he felt in sync with Chris Grier. Was he trying to send a message?
