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The surprise firing of Mike Maccagnan has left the door open for a quality young forward thinking GM to take the helm of the New York Jets. The Jets need a smart, young talent evaluator to bring the them back into contention in the AFC East. They need someone who will value basic tenets such as a solid and strong offensive line to protect their young QB while working in new concepts from the college ranks.
Two Candidates who fit this criteria:
Joe Douglas- Vice President of Player Personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles
He is in his third season in his current post and was a valued voice to Howie Roseman in building the Eagles’ Super Bowl roster. He came from the Chicago Bears where he spent a season as the Director of College Scouting. Before that he worked in the Ravens’ personnel department from 2000-2015. He is 45 years old.
“I have known Joe for several years and have admired his work with both the Ravens and the Bears,” said Howie Roseman, Eagles executive vice president of football operations. “He is a guy that we had targeted from the outset. I feel that we are very fortunate to have him lead our player personnel department. [Ravens general manager] Ozzie Newsome and [Bears general manager] Ryan Pace spoke very highly of him and his work. He is passionate about football, passionate about scouting and he played a vital role in the success of the Ravens over the last decade.”
As a member of the Ravens organization, Douglas held various posts which included serving as the club’s National Scout (2012-15), Southeast Area Scout (2009-11), East Coast Area Scout (2008), and Northeast Area Scout (2003-07). Douglas was first hired by Baltimore in 2000, where he worked as a Player Personnel Assistant for three years. He was responsible for fall and spring scouting assignments, college workouts, Draft visit coordination, managing the team’s college video library, and assisting the Pro Personnel Department with special teams evaluations of club opponents and unrestricted free agents.
He and his wife, Shannon, have two daughters, Addison and Leighton, and a son, Thomas.
Eliot Wolf- Assistant GM Cleveland Browns
Eliot Wolf is the assistant General Manager of the Cleveland Browns and has held the Post since January 2018. He has worked closely with the Browns GM John Dorsey and has played an integral role in the last two Drafts. Both he and John Dorsey are proteges of legendary Packer HOF GM Ron Wolf (Eliot’s father). Eliot is 37 years old.
- He came to Cleveland from the Green Bay Packers where he spent 14 seasons, most recently as the Director of Football Operations. He oversaw the team’s pro and college football departments in Green Bay during that time. He first came to the Packers in 2004 as a Pro Personnel Assistant. He has held these positions over the years.
- Green Bay Packers (2004–2008)
- Pro Personnel Assistant
- Green Bay Packers (2008–2011)
- Assistant Director of Pro Personnel
- Green Bay Packers (2011–2012)
- Assistant Director of Player Personnel
- Green Bay Packers (2012–2015)
- Director of Pro Personnel
- Green Bay Packers (2015–2016)
- Director of Player Personnel
- Green Bay Packers (2016–2017)
- Director of Football Operations
- Cleveland Browns (2018–present)
- Assistant General Manager
Eliot developed a passion for scouting at 10 years old, joining his father Ron for film sessions at Lambeau Field. At age fourteen, he filed his first scouting report for the Atlanta Falcons and had assisted in Green Bay’s scouting efforts since 1993.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy spoke highly of Wolf. “He’s going to be a general manager someday.” “He’s extremely talented, and I have high respect for him, and I really believe he’s got a great career ahead of him.”
These two guys should be the first two phone calls from Christopher Johnson. He should not mess around with these talented men and offer them full autonomy of the GM position with the right to hire or fire whoever they deem fit.
Some say this was a bad time to fire Mike Maccagnan but I disagree. Anytime you believe your franchise is headed in the wrong direction, action needs to be taken including firing the person who is the problem. Would have it been better to fire Maccagnan the same time Todd Bowles was let go? Sure it would have been much better, but you can’t turn back the clock and change history. Change was needed, and the sooner the Jets have a leader the the correct vision the better.
This is a sort of down time in the NFL where only small moves are made. To hire a GM now lets him assess his team, hire the scouts he trusts, and put in any doctrines he feels are necessary. He gets to see his team from training camp until the following Draft and will know his teams strengths and weaknesses.
The Jets now have all the candidates to choose from without competition. They can make a well thought out decision without worrying about another team stealing their first choice. Of course the sooner the better, but it has to be a great choice.
What do you think?