Takeaways from Chris Johnson’s and Mike Maccagnan’s Jets press conferences

Jets CEO Chris Johnson and general manager Mike Maccagnan spoke to the press today. Here are some of the highlights.

The Jets looked bad by having no cameras at the press conferences.

The press conference was not televised on SNY. Nor was it streamed online by the Jets on their website or social channels as so many of their press conferences are.

On this site I wear a couple of different hats. Sometimes I speak as a writer. Sometimes I speak as a fan. The following statement is me speaking as a fan.

I think it was unacceptable for there to be no cameras at the event today. After the season the Jets had, the owner owes it to the fans for him to address them directly. That goes double when the team made a controversial decision to fire only half of its general manager-head coach tandem.

Maybe there was a legitimate reason for cameras to not be there, but the optics of this made it look like Johnson was afraid to get in front of a camera.

And this matters because I’ve been in those interview rooms as a writer. I know not every statement will be transcribed. You can only type tweets capturing quotes so quickly into your phone.

Sam Darnold saved Mike Maccagnan’s job.

“Now they can build around Sam.”

What exactly have the Jets been doing the last four years? Shouldn’t they have been building up the roster with quality pieces to support a rookie quarterback? Did it not register that Darnold played back to back great games near the end of the season, and the Jets lost both because the other pieces on the roster were so bad?

The organizational structure will remain the same.

The team’s reporting structure has gotten a lot of attention over the last few years. I think the attention has bordered on the bizarre. Having both the head coach and the general manager report directly to the owner isn’t unusual. In fact, it is the way many successful teams are set up. In any event, it doesn’t seem like the general manager was able to parlay a 4-12 season into a promotion.

The Jets won’t hire a head coach who wants personnel control.

I wouldn’t be comfortable giving many coaches the final say over personnel, but it strikes me as pretty dumb to rule it out from the outset. The coaches in a position to demand it tend to be the big fish proven winner types. Why not keep your options open in case a big name is interested in the job?

This annihilates the argument that keeping Mike Maccagnan will have no negative impact on the coaching search.

It sounds like the Jets are leaning towards hiring a head coach with an offensive background.

I hope the Jets keep an open mind. Having a defensive or special teams background does not necessarily preclude a coach from having a good plan for developing a quarterback.

And for every Sean McVay who succeeds as the hot young offensive mind it seems like there are multiple coaches like Hue Jackson and Adam Gase.

Woody Johnson won’t pick the coach.

The Jets are telling us Chris Johnson is truly in charge.

Chris Johnson thinks the Jets have talent.

I got nothing.

The Jets’ next head coach won’t be promoted from the current staff.

Maccagnan’s portion of the event was light on substance. This was the most interesting nugget, and it seems pretty obvious. I wouldn’t mind seeing the guys Hughes mentioned stick around, though.