157 replies to this topic

[Maxman]

http://www.cbssports...ire-by-thursday


The New York Jets plan to name a new general manager by Thursday, according to league sources, with finalists wrapping up their interviews Wednesday.

The Jets have identified at least three finalists for the GM opening, and have already conducted second interviews with at least two candidates.

Steelers executive Omar Khan has interviewed with them and Seahawks exec John Idzik flew in from Seattle on Tuesday and is meeting with team officials Wednesday. The Jets' assistant general manager, Scott Cohen, is also under consideration, sources said.
While there were reports of former Bears GM Jerry Angelo being a finalist, sources said he was not contacted about a second interview. Also, although there have been reports that Giants scouting director Marc Ross pulled out of consideration, league sources said he was not in fact a finalist, anyway.

The Jets are replacing long-time GM Mike Tannenbaum, and are focused on ways to rectify the cap crunch they are facing and determining how to navigate a handful of awful contracts bloating the payroll. The team also must improve its scouting and talent evaluation.

Idzik and Khan are experts in salary-cap and contract matters, and, sources said, if the Jets went outside the organization for this hire there would likely be sweeping changes coming to the front office.

The Jets made it clear to candidates that coach Rex Ryan will stay for 2013, but that coaching changes are in play beyond that season if necessary. The team has also been interviewing coaches trying to fill the many vacancies on that staff and trying to have personnel matters resolved before the Senior Bowl kicks off next week.

[slats]

Steelers executive Omar Khan has interviewed with them and Seahawks exec John Idzik flew in from Seattle on Tuesday and is meeting with team officials Wednesday. The Jets' assistant general manager, Scott Cohen, is also under consideration, sources said.

While there were reports of former Bears GM Jerry Angelo being a finalist, sources said he was not contacted about a second interview.

Angelo being off the list is the only positive in this article. If those three guys are really the finalists, I'm just about ready to go full T0mShane on this franchise.

[Bleedin Green]

Glad they're finally getting this sh*t wrapped up, even if I'm not necessarily in love with the candidates. If it's between Khan and Idzik, I'd definitely far prefer Idzik as the hire, as he has experience on all sides, including personnel matters, which I think is a huge plus and obviously needs to be priority #1 for this team. Khan's experience is nothing but 100% on the business side, and while that has it's place on an NFL staff, it's not as GM.

[Bleedin Green]

Angelo being off the list is the only positive in this article. If those three guys are really the finalists, I'm just about ready to go full T0mShane on this franchise.

Angelo being off is definitely a big plus. I think Khan would be an awful hire but am trying to hold onto a glimmer of hope regarding Idzik, given that his background going beyond just the cap/contracts side of things.

[faba]

I would have to need further info on Idzik role in Seattle? He seems the best out of those

[slats]

I would have to need further info on Idzik role in Seattle? He seems the best out of those

Maybe I just don't know enough about Idzik. I just want a guy whose strength is personnel, and hires a nerd to do his contracts. We've done it the other way for a number of years now, and it hasn't worked.

[dbatesman]

I just want a guy whose strength is personnel

We already have Rex.

[jgb]

focusing on three cap experts seems short sighted would prefer the top job be a talent evaluator with the assistant being the cap whiz

[Matt39]

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
Hearing the idea of hiring John Idzik intrigues the Jets. Has business sense, and Seahawks have put him on the road to scout of late too.

[Bleedin Green]

Idzik's bio:

John Idzik begins his sixth season with the Seahawks after joining the club on February 16, 2007. With Seattle, Idzik oversees player negotiations, the team’s compliance with the NFL salary cap, player personnel transactions, all football operations budgets, staff and team contracts, team travel and most aspects of the day-to-day football operations while also remaining active in player evaluations. In addition, he serves as the club’s primary liaison to the NFL Office and represents the club at League meetings.

Prior to joining the Seahawks, Idzik spent three seasons as Senior Director of Football Operations for the Arizona Cardinals, helping to build an eventual NFC champion. Idzik entered the NFL in 1993 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spent 11 years with the Buccaneers, first as a Pro Personnel Assistant and then was elevated to Director of Football Administration in 1996 and Assistant General Manager in 2001. Prior to his tenure with the Buccaneers, Idzik spent the 1991-92 seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Duke University, where he assisted with the offensive line and running backs. In 1990 he was the offensive backfield coach for the Aberdeen Oilers (Scotland) of the British American Football League. Idzik’s first coaching assignment came in 1982 as receivers coach at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Raised in a football family, Idzik’s father, also John, was the head coach of the Aberdeen club after serving as an NFL assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and N.Y. Jets. They became one of the NFL’s few father-son Super Bowl champions in 2003 when the younger Idzik’s Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, as his father was the offensive backfield coach of the Super Bowl V champion Baltimore Colts.

A native of Detroit, Idzik graduated with magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors from Dartmouth College in 1982 earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, where he also played wide receiver for the Ivy League Champion Big Green. He later earned a master’s degree in liberal studies from Duke University in 1992.

Idzik and his wife, Carol (a University of Georgia graduate), have two sons, Bryant (a senior and captain of the Formula SAE racing team at Western Washington University) and Bradley (a sophomore wide receiver at Wake Forest University), and a daughter, Holly (a senior at Mercer Island High School).

While it may not be ideal, there is at least some experience in the personnel side there, even if it is related to pro personnel and not any sort of scouting type experience. I don't love it, but definitely far prefer it to Khan's resume.

[Bleedin Green]

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
Hearing the idea of hiring John Idzik intrigues the Jets. Has business sense, and Seahawks have put him on the road to scout of late too.

That's kind of nice to hear. It's not an ideal level of experience, but it's certainly better than a guy with absolutely no experience in that department of any kind (Khan).

Edited by Bleedin Green, 16 January 2013 - 09:59 AM.

[faba]

Idzik's bio:

While it may not be ideal, there is at least some experience in the personnel side there, even if it is related to pro personnel and not any sort of scouting type experience. I don't love it, but definitely far prefer it to Khan's resume.

Thanks for posting-he has a wide range of experience in different football operations. Scouting talent-you need a good scouting staff no matter what to filter out

[Bugg]

Thanks for posting-he has a wide range of experience in different football operations. Scouting talent-you need a good scouting staff no matter what to filter out

Think ulitmately the Jets will regret passing on Gamble and Ross. What ever; this is the hand we've been dealt within the confines of being stuck with Richie Rich and Wrecks.

Clearly Idzik would be the best of the 3. Not ideal, but if we're gonna make the best of it, the Jets need someone who is a. an adult and b. familiar and involved in talent evaluation. DOn't know why but reminds me a bit of Knicks GM Glen Grunwald; a football lifer who may be ready for the big job. Notice his daughter is a senior in HS; he's ready to work since there will be no kids at home next fall.

If the Jets go with either of the other 2 cap children, let the fecal storm commence in earnest.

Edited by Bugg, 16 January 2013 - 10:10 AM.

[Drums]

I'm with all of you guys on this one.. Idzik will make me the least suicidal.

[T0mShane]

I'm just about ready to go full T0mShane on this franchise.

It really is the only way.

[JiF]

Angelo being off the list is the only positive in this article. If those three guys are really the finalists, I'm just about ready to go full T0mShane on this franchise.

Glad they're finally getting this sh*t wrapped up, even if I'm not necessarily in love with the candidates. If it's between Khan and Idzik, I'd definitely far prefer Idzik as the hire, as he has experience on all sides, including personnel matters, which I think is a huge plus and obviously needs to be priority #1 for this team. Khan's experience is nothing but 100% on the business side, and while that has it's place on an NFL staff, it's not as GM.

I knew these would be typical responses because its JN, but I laugh in your faces as if you actually know if these candidates would be good hires or not.

[Matt39]

What concerns me the most is Woody hired some tube steak either last year or a two years back to be the team president(Neil Glat I believe) from the NFL office, one of Goodells cronies I assume...now seeing the direction they're going in with the GM(profit not personnel) it really makes me wonder what Woody's true intentions are with this franchise...

You need a personnel guy making the ultimate decision with a cap guy in the background letting him know the ramifications long term.

Edited by Matt39, 16 January 2013 - 10:27 AM.

[Bleedin Green]

I knew these would be typical responses because its JN, but I laugh in your faces as if you actually know if these candidates would be good hires or not.

So that means people aren't allowed to have their preferences of a hire? By that logic, we might as well just shut JN down, since clearly us silly fans have no place to have any opinions on this crazy super-complicated football world. Why don't you go back over to the mafia forum before you hurt yourself.

[slats]

I knew these would be typical responses because its JN, but I laugh in your faces as if you actually know if these candidates would be good hires or not.

I'm highly confident that hiring from within, or bringing in a business side guy from the outside, would be bad hires.

GM needs to be able to do talent evaluation on his own. Otherwise, he's not making his own decisions, he's letting his underlings do it. I'd rather the underlings handle the business side of things. Plenty of qualified accountants out there.

[jack48]

Everybody hates Angelo, but he was essentially 9-7 over a 10 year period in Chi with a SB appearance. And he has personnel experience which is an absolute must. I realize that these guys can hire a cap specialist or a personnel guy as their assistants, but we do not know who those guys will be. I don't necessarily want Angelo, but I am certain the Jets drove away better guys with their decision on Rex. And the Rex decision will have an even longer lasting effect. What coordinator comes here knowing Rex may be gone after one year? They are not coming for one year to a team with an offensive foundation like this one. Whatever happens next season will not land them an HC position somehwere else. Are the Jets foolish enough to offer multi year contracts to coordinators that their next coach may want them to pay off? Or does the next coach have to accept coordinators like this G.M. has to accept a head coach? It just shows how much of a snafu keeping Rex created. I want someone who is a personnel guy first. He can always get a cap nerd. No way a cap nerd should run a football organization. Get Gamble back. Tell him after this year he has total coach control. From day one he can get any players he wants. This year he is bulletproof anyway.

Edited by jack48, 16 January 2013 - 10:35 AM.