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A little over a week has passed since the Jets fired general manager Mike Maccagnan. The search for his replacement has officially begun. The team has requested permission from the Eagles to interview Joe Douglas and from the Bears to interview Champ Kelly.
The #Jets requests for GM interviews have gone out, sources say. Among them: #Eagles VP Player Personnel Joe Douglas and #Bears Assistant Director of Player Personnel Champ Kelly. Two very respected evaluators.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 24, 2019
The chance to land Douglas might come down to how much control he would be granted.
Adding to a report @RapSheet the #Jets have asked for permission to talk with #Eagles VP of player personel for their GM opening. I’m told unless Jets give Douglas final say on players the Eagles would not let him go and Joe Douglas would not take the job. @SportsRadioWIP
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) May 24, 2019
The Eagles could decline the Jets the chance to interview Douglas if they are not willing to offer control of the 53 man roster. If the Jets are willing to grant that, they would not need Philadelphia’s permission to interview Douglas.
That will be one key component to filling this job. It goes beyond simply securing an interview. The job will be less appealing to candidates if they are not allowed to pick the players. Even beyond nominal control of the 53 man roster, the Jets will also need to make clear the autonomy their general manager will have to shape his own vision. There will certainly be questions about the extent to which Adam Gase will influence personnel decisions behind the scenes.