New York Jets General Manager Candidates: The Search Begins

Unlike us here at Gang Green Nation, who search for General Manager candidates through our own knowledge, your suggestions, and Wikipedia, the New York Jets have decided to take a more formal approach. There are reports that the Jets have hired Jed Hughes of Korn/Ferry International, an executive consulting firm, to help guide the search for a new general manager to replace Mike Tannenbaum. Essentially VIP headhunters, more and more teams are taking this approach to make sure their search is broad enough and they cover all the good candidates. The Jets used the same firm to hire Neil Glat, the team president.

On first glance, I presumed this was a poor idea. It sounded like it would naturally lead to the hiring of a business man, not a football guy, as the general manager. Now, it's starting to sound better and better. You should know, first of all, that Hughes has an extensive football background, He has worked for Stanford, Michigan, UCLA, the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns as a coach from 1972-1989. He worked under such greats as Bo Schembechler, Chuck Noll, Bud Grant, etc. His specialty is finding and identifying talent and leaders, and was recognized as the top recruiter in the country while at UCLA. He also helped find and hire Brady Hoke, the now head coach of Michigan, and Packers CEO Mark Murphy.

Another thing that's important to note, is that the Jets now have Glat (a former NFL league executive) in place as the team's primary businessman, which they didn't have when Tannenbaum was hired. It would be redundant to hire another businessman, so I expect Hughes to find a football guy to lead the football operations.

Hughes has an extensive football background, and is poised to be the point man as we search for a new general manager. I'm extremely excited about this, first of all, because of his football background, and second of all, it means they intend to have a wide search for the most capable candidate, unlike what we saw last year in the pursuit of offensive coordinator Tony Sparano.

What do you all think?