The 2024 New York Jets’ postseason chances officially disappeared with Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins, but owner Woody Johnson turned his attention to the 2025 season weeks ago.
Currently, the organization — with help from former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman, via The 33rd Team — is already starting the process of researching and vetting potential general manager and head coaching candidates.
It’s believed that the Jets prefer to hire a general manager first, though that order could change if they were able to reel in a highly-regarded coaching candidate, like Mike Vrabel or Ben Johnson. The head coaching target list will be filled with some expected names, and some surprises. As for GM, the list of candidates is a little more wide-open.
After conversations with some league sources, here is a list of candidates that some around the league expect the Jets to pursue — and some candidates who are expected to express their own interest in the Jets job (candidates listed alphabetically):
Ray Agnew, Lions assistant general manager: Don’t be surprised if multiple general managers come out of Brad Holmes’s staff in Detroit. Agnew played in the NFL for a decade and came up in the Rams front office working for Holmes and Les Snead. He’s played an important role in the Lions’ rise into one of the NFL’s best teams.
Dawn Aponte, NFL’s chief administrator of football operations: Aponte wants to move back to a team’s front office, either as a president of football operations or general manager. Based on her résumé and the respect she garners across the league, she’s qualified for either job. Many point to her ability to look at the big picture; she’s worked in various departments for NFL teams over the years, including in salary cap and personnel for the Jets (under Tannenbaum) in the early 2000s. Don’t underestimate her as a candidate. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported she’s expected to garner interest, and the Chargers interviewed her for their GM job last year.
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Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs assistant GM: He’s been in the Chiefs organization in various roles since 2009, and the assistant GM since 2021. The Jets should be looking to poach someone from the NFL’s best-run organizations, and the Chiefs are at the top of that list, though Borgonzi could have his pick of the litter when it comes to GM openings.
Brandon Brown, Giants assistant GM: He worked in Philadelphia under Howie Roseman and has spent the last few years with the Giants under Joe Schoen. The Giants were a surprise playoff team in 2022, and while they have fallen off since it hasn’t impacted how people view Brown around the league. He’s lauded for his ability to connect and is considered a strong evaluator of talent. He was a finalist for the Chargers job last year.
Ian Cunningham, Chicago Bears assistant GM: He came up with Douglas in the Ravens and Eagles front office and has been viewed as a rising star in league circles for a while. Cunningham has been with the Bears since 2022, was a finalist for Commanders and Cardinals GM jobs in recent years and is expected to get another stab at it in 2025. Expect at least an interview with the Jets, though he could have better options. A positive on his résumé: He’s worked in both college scouting and personnel departments in the NFL.
Thomas Dimitroff, former Falcons GM: He was Atlanta’s GM from 2008 to ’20 after years working in New England. The Falcons made the playoffs six times in his 13 years on the job, including a run to the Super Bowl in 2016. He’s been working for a football analytics company since the Falcons fired him, though it’s believed he wants to get another shot at running a team; league sources think he’ll be interested in the Jets job.
John Dorsey, Lions senior personnel executive: If the Jets want someone with GM experience, Dorsey is one of the better candidates available. He led the Chiefs (2013-17) and Browns (2017-19) and has spent the last few years in the Eagles and Lions front offices.
Ray Farmer, Rams senior personnel executive: His short tenure as the Browns GM, in 2014 and ’15, didn’t go well (10-22), but he’s built up his reputation working under Snead since 2020, first as a scouting assistant and then now as a senior personnel executive.
Mike Greenberg, Buccaneers assistant GM: He’s considered one of the rising GM candidates around the league and has served as the salary cap expert under Jason Licht in Tampa for the last few years. I’d expect the Jets to at least interview him.
Mike Martin, Lions director of scouting advancement: Martin has paid his dues and worked his way up in the Lions front office into a key role for one of the best-run organizations in the NFL. He was one of Holmes’ first front-office hires. He oversees strategy, processes and data analytics and he works with the college and pro personnel staff to “enhance the scouting and roster building processes” according to the Lions website. He started out his career on the talent-evaluation side as a scout for the Texans.
Lance Newmark, Commanders assistant GM: He spent years in the Lions organization and was a part of their successful rebuild before being hired away by Adam Peters in Washington this past offseason. It should be noted that Spielman, who will be assisting the Jets search, helped the search that led to the Commanders hiring Peters as GM.
Phil Savage, Jets interim general manager: Savage had a 24-40 record as the GM of the Browns from 2005-08. Since then he’s spent some time with the Eagles organization, as the GM of the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF, and he’s been in the Jets organization since 2019 as a senior personnel advisor. If the Jets are looking for experience, he has it — and he has worked with Johnson.
John Spytek, Buccaneers assistant general manager: Another member of the Tampa Bay front office expected to get looks this offseason, Spytek should draw interest from the Jets. He’s worked under Licht for a while and currently works closely with the Bucs GM when it comes to the NFL Draft, free agency and other personnel decisions, as well as overseeing the day-to-day operations for Tampa’s college and pro scouting departments, per the team website.
Nolan Teasley, Seahawks assistant general manager: He’s in his 12th season in Seattle, learning under general manager John Schneider. He’s in his second year as assistant GM after spending most of his tenure in the pro personnel department; Teasley is due for some interviews.
Josh Williams, 49ers director of scouting and football operations: Many in league circles believe the 34-year-old is an under-the-radar rising star, someone who paid his dues over 14 years in San Francisco’s organization working under John Lynch and Paraag Marathe. Williams is lauded for his intelligence and worked his way up from the lowest levels of the organization to where he is now, running point on game strategy. He came up as a college scout.
(Photo of Thomas Dimitroff: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
