The New York Jets leadership are reportedly seeking help to find their next GM from TV personality Peter Schrager.
Fans of the New York Jets have been struggling for about a decade. Their team has not been to the playoffs since 2010, when Rex Ryan roamed the sidelines, and for most of those years the product on the field has been difficult to watch. Both their front office and their coaches seem to be perennially on the hot seat, and just when it looks like they may be headed in a positive direction, they abruptly change course and do something that looks foolish.
Many applauded the hire of Todd Bowles four years ago, and early on he was off to a great start, finishing his first season at 10-6. But three losing seasons since then got him fired, and the Jets then decided to hire Adam Gase, who had himself just recently been fired by the Miami Dolphins. When you are hiring a coach recently fired by another struggling franchise, things might not be heading in a positive direction.
However, by all accounts those around the Jets were excited about the changes Gase would bring, and then last week the latest abrupt decision of the Jets was to fire Mike Maccagnan, who had also been with the team since 2015.
Some say it makes sense to allow a current GM and his team to finish out the draft before letting them go, since the draft is a culmination of years worth of research and scouting. However, since the Jets had just hired a new coach and wanted to move in a new direction, the decision seems misguided. When you factor in that apparently Maccagnan did not want Gase’s input in the draft day decisions, it seems downright foolish that the Jets ownership have allowed it to play out the way it has.
Regardless, those decisions have been made and it is time to move on, which is what the Jets are trying to do in their current search for a new General Manager – which leads us to perhaps the most baffling news in this entire saga. The Jets have reportedly been seeking help in their GM search from NFL Network TV personality Peter Schrager!
The New York Daily News speaks bluntly about this latest decision of the franchise: “On the surface, it makes little sense. If you look closer, it makes even less sense.” Though apparently Christopher Johnson, the Jets owner, has a personal friendship with Schrager, getting help from a media personality in a search for your General Manager is akin to a franchise asking a fantasy football player to help in their scouting department.
For all those long suffering Jets fans, here’s hoping that Schrager knows all the best people.