The last time New York Jets owner Woody Johnson ran a search for a new general manager and head coach, he hired two prominent former NFL GMs to consult and lead the way. Ten years later, Johnson is taking a similar tack.
After firing GM Joe Douglas last week, Johnson is retaining The 33rd Team, a media and consulting firm run by former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, for support in the Jets’ upcoming GM and head coach searches. Along with Tannenbaum, former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman will help spearhead the search.
Tannenbaum worked for the Jets in various roles from 1997 to 2012, most prominently as the team’s general manager from 2006-12. His knowledge of the organization, as well as how Johnson thinks and what he’s looking for, likely factored into the decision to incorporate him into the process — though it is interesting that Johnson would lean on Tannenbaum to fill the same role that he also fired him from after the 2012 season.
Spielman helped the Washington Commanders in their GM and head coach searches last year, which ended with Washington hiring Adam Peters as general manager and Dan Quinn as head coach — that pairing has delivered strong early returns.
In 2015, Johnson hired former NFL general managers Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf to lead the charge, a search that ended with them hiring Mike Maccagnan as general manager. Maccagnan, notably, was Casserly’s No. 2 when Casserly was the general manager of the Houston Texans.
Here’s what Casserly said about Johnson’s approach, via the “New York Post,” in 2015: “We didn’t make any decisions. These were clearly Woody’s decisions. I don’t want that taken the wrong way. Our job was to give advice when asked. That’s what you do in that position. Woody was outstanding. Woody gave us latitude to ask anything in interviews. He listened to everything we had to say. He encouraged us to give him exactly what we thought. He made the decisions and I think he chose two outstanding candidates.
It’s notable that Rex Ryan has been floating his own candidacy for the Jets’ vacant head coaching position too, especially considering Tannenbaum hired him to coach the Jets in 2009. Tannebaum also hired Eric Mangini prior to Ryan’s tenure. Both former coaches now work as media analysts, Ryan for ESPN and Mangini for Fox Sports. Ryan has not coached in the NFL since 2016; Mangini hasn’t had a coaching role since 2015.
The Jets are believed to be planning to hire a general manager first — since the Douglas firing, longtime NFL executive Phil Savage has served as the interim GM. Robert Saleh was fired as head coach after a Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and replaced by defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Neither Savage nor Ulbrich are considered leading candidates for the full-time positions, though both could potentially garner interviews with the new search committee.
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