the Ignored Culprit of the Constant Jets Mess

[jorge o8]

I hoped the gamble got the job the guy does know talent but as far as numbers and cap maybe not his thing he could hire somebody to help him with that we got what we got and can only hope things are better next year but yeah the scout teams needs to go!

[aec4]

Guys: woody Johnson can't be replaced. you can't force him to sell with 1000 billboards. Just deal with it.

[Shockwave]

Should of hired Gamble and showed the rest the door.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gamble and Harbaugh reunite this year somewhere to run a team. Both should be available this offseason for perhaps the raiders, or us. 

 

Jan. 8, 2014: Jason La Canfora reports that the Dolphins are looking at hiring former 49ers personnel exec Tom Gamble as their general manager in hopes of bolstering their chances of landing Harbaugh in the future. Gamble was with the Niners when Harbaugh chose them over the Dolphins in 2011.

 

 

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/24/5442024/jim-harbaugh-san-francisco-49ers-cleveland-browns-trade

[Flushing Roots]

I think everyone knows Woody is where the problem lies.

But what are you going to do with him?

He's not selling the team!

[GimmeShelter]

Agreed there. The one yr Polians team did not have possibly the best QB in the history of the NFL, his team goes what 1-15? That's Polian. In other words, Polian 'stat padded' his win totals with Manning n now we consider his words to be sacred of some sort.

Even Tanny built better teams than Polian. One of Mr. Ts biggest mistake (at the time) was locking up Sanchez long term. He saw something in Sanchez to do so. Chip Kelly also saw something in him n picked him up off the streets. Guess what? Kelly is also considered God here while Tanny is considered the worst GM of all time. I don't get that. Tanny built some excellent teams albeit below average QB play. The one yr he had FHoF QB, his team was 8-3 before the QB got injured n the season came down crashing. I'd much rather have Tanny back than Polian as GM or Kelly as HC.

Tanny was decent until he and Rex got too full of themselves based on the success of 2010. The two of them had a team on the cusp of making some serious noise with the correct tweaking of the roster. Instead they made some of the most mind numbing decisions a FO/HC could ever make. Rex then needed to actually "Head Coach" and has been exposed as nothing more than a good DC ever since.

[southparkcpa]

Tanny was decent until he and Rex got too full of themselves based on the success of 2010. The two of them had a team on the cusp of making some serious noise with the correct tweaking of the roster. Instead they made some of the most mind numbing decisions a FO/HC could ever make. Rex then needed to actually "Head Coach" and has been exposed as nothing more than a good DC ever since.

Agreed. they mortgaged the futue. In Hard Knoks, REX looked like a kid in a candy store with his new deal.

then we Lose Edwards, Cotch, have terrible drafts and here we are.

The Sanchez contract followed by the Sanchz tattoo .....

[IPBanBadPosters]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gamble and Harbaugh reunite this year somewhere to run a team. Both should be available this offseason for perhaps the raiders, or us. 

 

 

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/24/5442024/jim-harbaugh-san-francisco-49ers-cleveland-browns-trade

 

Agreed, which is partly why I recommended the Harbaugh-Gamble pairing here:

 

 

If the rumors of Woody looking to hire Harbaugh next year are true, then I wonder if Harbaugh wanting Gamble to be his GM would be a deal-breaker in Woody's eyes, considering the fallout following his interview 2 years ago (or if Gamble would even be willing to come here anymore).

[Il Mostro]

I think everyone knows Woody is where the problem lies.

But what are you going to do with him?

He's not selling the team!

 

Two guys on a small displacement motorcycle, with the passenger wielding a .45.   That's about the only way Woody gets out of the picture.  So, yeah, it ain't happening.

[Flushing Roots]

Two guys on a small displacement motorcycle, with the passenger wielding a .45.   That's about the only way Woody gets out of the picture.  So, yeah, it ain't happening.

 

I hope he has a food taster.

[j4jets]

Tanny was decent until he and Rex got too full of themselves based on the success of 2010. The two of them had a team on the cusp of making some serious noise with the correct tweaking of the roster. Instead they made some of the most mind numbing decisions a FO/HC could ever make. Rex then needed to actually "Head Coach" and has been exposed as nothing more than a good DC ever since.

 

I guess Rex didn't "Head Coach" the first couple of yrs here cuz he had too much success...with the leagues worst QB play over that time. The QB play deteriorated every yr for the last 3 yrs. Over the last 6 yrs, Jets have combined for the worst QB play possibly of all time and they still managed 2 AFCCGs. Guess who it was under? Tanny. This Idiot of a GM has compiled a sh*t roster and has a 2-10 team. I'd be more than happy if Tanny came back...not happening I know.

[j4jets]

spending money isn't the issue.  It really isn't

 

it's that he doesn't do his job.  His job is to set the standards high, hire the GM, and give him everything he needs to succeed, and then hold him accountable for the results.

 

Woody has failed in every aspect of the job description.

 

He even hire a search firm to find the GM.  I know the seahawks did it, but he needs to do it the old fashioned way and tap into his network of real football contacts and gather a half dozen recommendations and then hire the best one.

 

Woody promoted Tanny from with in the organization, which is a very common practice ("hire the GM"). Tanny had complete freedom to hire and fire whoever he wanted to ("give him everything he needs to succeed"). He had the checkbook to resign Revis and he did for a short term deal, but Revis demanded too high of a raise for a longer term deal. He had a few playoff runs but when he failed to produce for a couple of yrs, Woody dropped the hammer ("hold him accountable").

 

Then Woody didn't want to take complete blame for hiring such a sh*t GM so he decided to hire a firm to do the search. Not the most common practice in the NFL, but you can't blame the owner for doing so. Hindsight is 20/20, but was there anyone here or in the NFL that was pointing fingers at Woody last yr? No one unless they were biased.

[FTL Jet Fan]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gamble and Harbaugh reunite this year somewhere to run a team. Both should be available this offseason for perhaps the raiders, or us. 

 

 

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/24/5442024/jim-harbaugh-san-francisco-49ers-cleveland-browns-trade

If Woody could pull this off I would be very optimistic about our future.

[Bugg]

 

I'm well aware of Polian's pre-Colts history. And every one of his drafts wasn't a disaster even when one takes Manning out of the equation. 

But even if one wanted to romanticize his past, he is what he is, not what he was. Nor is the league itself what it was, as you alluded to yourself.

Fair. The problem with Polian (Parcells, Cassserly et al) is they' re old. Youa re jot gonna hire a 70 -year old to work 100 hours a week 48 weeks a year. But worse problem with Idzik is to his age but his drafts almost completely suck donkey balls.

[sourceworx]

Fair. The problem with Polian (Parcells, Cassserly et al) is they' re old. Youa re jot gonna hire a 70 -year old to work 100 hours a week 48 weeks a year. But worse problem with Idzik is to his age but his drafts almost completely suck donkey balls.

You aren't hiring them to be the GM. You're consulting them to find you one.

If Woody had done that two years ago instead of hiring Korn Ferry, we'd have ended up with a real football guy, instead of a clown who should be working for Jackson Hewitt.

[Shockwave]

Agreed, which is partly why I recommended the Harbaugh-Gamble pairing here:

 

 

If the rumors of Woody looking to hire Harbaugh next year are true, then I wonder if Harbaugh wanting Gamble to be his GM would be a deal-breaker in Woody's eyes, considering the fallout following his interview 2 years ago (or if Gamble would even be willing to come here anymore).

Nice Post. Gamble/Harbaugh/Mariotta is a dream combination.

Would you mind describing what was the fallout with Gamble after his interview?

Whats interesting is the Jets interviewed Harbaugh before Rex too.

[IPBanBadPosters]

Nice Post. Gamble/Harbaugh/Mariotta is a dream combination.

Would you mind describing what was the fallout with Gamble after his interview?

Whats interesting is the Jets interviewed Harbaugh before Rex too.

 

 

The poster 'slats' will be by momentarily to tell you not to listen to me, that this isn't how it went down, and that it was the Jets who turned down Gamble and not the other way around. Having said that:

 

 

After Tannenbaum was fired and Rex retained, Gamble - who was there because Bill Polian recommended him to Woody - interviewed for the GM job with Woody, Neil Glat, and Ira Akselrad (notice there were no "football men" in the room conducting the interview for the Jets). The interview went well by all accounts, and his hiring was regarded as a formality at that point.

 

Despite Rex being kept on by Woody, and Woody giving Rex all the right "he's our coach!" vote-of-confidence type statements to various media outlets, it was still very much an open question as to whether or not he'd allow for the incoming GM to fire Rex and bring in his own guy, if that was something he insisted upon (for whatever it's worth, Gamble's "guy" at the time was widely believed to be 49ers D-line coach Jim Tomsula). 

 

As it turned out, as Woody made clear to Gamble in the follow-up interview, not only was keeping Rex on as HC a non-negotiable condition, but he also had to keep Bradway on in his role as head of scouting. Gamble didn't like these terms and declined the job. Woody then had it leaked to the local beat writers that the Jets didn't hire him because he "interviewed poorly," which I'm guessing is something Gamble didn't take too kindly to.

 

At this point, I'm not sure if a reconciliation is possible, or if there's too much bad blood from how everything went down. I'd hope that Woody has it in him to swallow his pride and apologize, if that's what it takes to help right the ship.

[Shockwave]

The poster 'slats' will be by momentarily to tell you not to listen to me, that this isn't how it went down, and that it was the Jets who turned down Gamble and not the other way around. Having said that:

 

 

After Tannenbaum was fired and Rex retained, Gamble - who was there because Bill Polian recommended him to Woody - interviewed for the GM job with Woody, Neil Glat, and Ira Akselrad (notice there were no "football men" in the room conducting the interview for the Jets). The interview went well by all accounts, and his hiring was regarded as a formality at that point.

 

Despite Rex being kept on by Woody, and Woody giving Rex all the right "he's our coach!" vote-of-confidence type statements to various media outlets, it was still very much an open question as to whether or not he'd allow for the incoming GM to fire Rex and bring in his own guy, if that was something he insisted upon (for whatever it's worth, Gamble's "guy" at the time was widely believed to be 49ers D-line coach Jim Tomsula). 

 

As it turned out, as Woody made clear to Gamble in the follow-up interview, not only was keeping Rex on as HC a non-negotiable condition, but he also had to keep Bradway on in his role as head of scouting. Gamble didn't like these terms and declined the job. Woody then had it leaked to the local beat writers that the Jets didn't hire him because he "interviewed poorly," which I'm guessing is something Gamble didn't take too kindly to.

 

At this point, I'm not sure if a reconciliation is possible, or if there's too much bad blood from how everything went down. I'd hope that Woody has it in him to swallow his pride and apologize, if that's what it takes to help right the ship.

Nightmare. Thankyou for the details tho.

Im guessing the way this would go down is in reverse. I think Harbaugh is going to want to be hired first and pick his GM and front office. Hes actually a perfect fit as he would clean house. Hoping we land him.

[slats]

Nightmare. Thankyou for the details tho.

Im guessing the way this would go down is in reverse. I think Harbaugh is going to want to be hired first and pick his GM and front office. Hes actually a perfect fit as he would clean house. Hoping we land him.

Gamble never even had a second interview with the Jets. Lol.

The Jets announced that Rex would absolutely be the head coach of the team the week before they interviewed Gamble, and Gamble had no problem with that. He went so far as to cancel an interview with Jax to focus on the Jets job. But the Jets, as well as every other team with a GM vacancy that year, decided to pass on him. Word was that he's completely clueless about the salary cap. I'd think that would be something you could work around with an accountant assistant, but given that the Jets finalists were Idzik and Omar Kahn, they obviously thought the math side of the job was more important.

Gamble was my favorite for the job at the time, but the league apparently disagrees. The 49ers let him walk, and he wound up with a lateral position in Philly. The only time he's discussed as a GM candidate now is as a carrot to lure Harbaugh. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

There was no ambiguity about Rex returning, in fact he was informed that he'd be back the following year before the final game of the 2012 season: http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/10210207/rex-ryan-return-new-york-jets-head-coach-2014

Ask BadPoster to provide you with a link backing up his faulty memory, he won't do it for me or anyone else who's asked him.

[RSJ]

Polian sucks also. For how many years were the Colts considered a 5-7 win team without Peyton Manning, only to find out they were even worse than that when it actually happened?

Try to list the 5 best players from Polian's last 5 drafts before he got fired.

 

Polian was not in charge of the last 5 drafts he was there. The team was built around Manning. It's defense was built to be up by two touchdowns. Bend, but don't break, heavy pass rush defense. That's why it failed once they weren't up by two touchdowns anymore.

 

The Colts were another team with an owner that interfered too much rather than just let his football guys make decisions. 

[jack48]

Seriously? Read less than half of this crap n couldn't finish it. Fans that think Woody is cheap are idiots, morons, n have no clue about the Jrts history. The one damn yr we carry a lil bit of salary cap has all of a sudden become Woody's fault. God, all hell breaks loose. How about the other yrs Jets have been in a cap hell situation? "Oh that was just poor cap management by the GM". Really? Really? Woody never closed his wallet when it came to salary cap.

It is not a question of spending to the cap every year.  It is having the money when you need it.

[#27TheDominator]

He already did - he recommended Tom Gamble, currently VP of Player Personnel for the Eagles, who he worked with when they were both with the Colts.

 

The poster 'slats' will be by shortly to insist that the Jets passed on him (as opposed to him passing on the Jets after Woody made it known that he would have to retain Ryan as HC, and Bradway as director of college scouting), but if you're looking to hire someone recommended for the job by Polian, then Gamble is your man.

 

He also recommended Tony Sparano.  Infallible!

[vincenzo69]

Nightmare. Thankyou for the details tho.

Im guessing the way this would go down is in reverse. I think Harbaugh is going to want to be hired first and pick his GM and front office. Hes actually a perfect fit as he would clean house. Hoping we land him.

What would you offer the 49ers for Harbugh?  I wouldn't offer this year's first round pick but the 2016 first round pick would be a possibility.  He's worth it.

[j4jets]

It is not a question of spending to the cap every year. It is having the money when you need it.

Fans call him out cuz he had 20 mil in cap space. When has that EVER been a bad thing? Woody is not cheap. If anything, blame him for wanting to keep the HC that took a sh*t roster n a league worst rookie QB to AFCCG twice.

[Beerfish]

Woody is not cheap, he just pulled the cardinal sin of falling in lover with a coach and forcing that coach on a new gm, that almost never works and just puts off the inevitasble firing and reduces the talent pool for the gm position.

[Jets Voice of Reason]

How is this thread not about Terry Bradway and Jeff Bauer. GMs have come and gone and yet our drafts are riddled with reaches and busts. They've shown that they can't identify a top tier QB, WR, RB, OG, RT, or TE for well over a decade now. Woody is a known commodity and yet all the albeit well deserved hatred is just at Rex and Idzik and nothing is said about the common thread that exists on this team since the early 2000's.

[Dinamite]

He already did - he recommended Tom Gamble, currently VP of Player Personnel for the Eagles, who he worked with when they were both with the Colts.

The poster 'slats' will be by shortly to insist that the Jets passed on him (as opposed to him passing on the Jets after Woody made it known that he would have to retain Ryan as HC, and Bradway as director of college scouting), but if you're looking to hire someone recommended for the job by Polian, then Gamble is your man.

I think Bill Polian recommended the guy who became the jags gm. He did spurn the jets.

[dbatesman]

How is this thread not about Terry Bradway and Jeff Bauer. GMs have come and gone and yet our drafts are riddled with reaches and busts. They've shown that they can't identify a top tier QB, WR, RB, OG, RT, or TE for well over a decade now. Woody is a known commodity and yet all the albeit well deserved hatred is just at Rex and Idzik and nothing is said about the common thread that exists on this team since the early 2000's.

Because our press corps consists of a bunch of gossip columnists who'd rather report on whether Rex and Idzik like each other or like-like each other than do any actual work and investigate why the team is such a sh*theap.

[IPBanBadPosters]

I think Bill Polian recommended the guy who became the jags gm. He did spurn the jets.

 

No, he didn't recommend Dave Caldwell. He recommended Tom Gamble, who he worked with when they were both with the Colts. Polian never had a working relationship with Dave Caldwell.

[Dinamite]

No, he didn't recommend Dave Caldwell. He recommended Tom Gamble, who he worked with when they were both with the Colts. Polian never had a working relationship with Dave Caldwell.

Thank you, Dave Caldwell. That's his name. Anyway, he spent 10 years working with polian in the colts. He was definitely the guy polian recommended. But given the jags record last 2 years, he also has not done so well...

[IPBanBadPosters]

Thank you, Dave Caldwell. That's his name. Anyway, he spent 10 years working with polian in the colts. He was definitely the guy polian recommended. But given the jags record last 2 years, he also has not done so well...

 

I actually didn't know Caldwell worked for the Colts with Polian. Having said that, Gamble was still the name that Polian gave to Woody when he asked for a recommendation:

 

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/1/1/3826414/nfl-rumors-tom-gamble-jets-general-manager

 

And I like what Caldwell's doing down in Jax. Short-sighted people just look at the record and scoff, but at least you can see the foundation he's building.

[Dinamite]

Well, they both worked with polian and were both recommended by him. But gamble got passed be everyone who interviewed him so can't really blame jets on that one. Maybe new experience with eagles will make him better, who knows.

I am not being short sighted about Caldwell. If you like Blaine gabbert and the other rookies Caldwell drafted you probably like the job he is done. I view gabbert as a potentially good qb, but I thought idzik's first draft was as good as Caldwell's. Yes, Geno is not the qb of the future, but it was a good gamble. His second draft (and many other things) sucked though. Irrelevant though because Caldwell said no to jets and gamble was not offered the job.

I am Hoping we get the gamble/harbaugh combo this time around, but without giving up picks.

[IPBanBadPosters]

Well, they both worked with polian and were both recommended by him. But gamble got passed be everyone who interviewed him so can't really blame jets on that one. Maybe new experience with eagles will make him better, who knows.

I am not being short sighted about Caldwell. If you like Blaine gabbert and the other rookies Caldwell drafted you probably like the job he is done. I view gabbert as a potentially good qb, but I thought idzik's first draft was as good as Caldwell's. Yes, Geno is not the qb of the future, but it was a good gamble. His second draft (and many other things) sucked though. Irrelevant though because Caldwell said no to jets and gamble was not offered the job.

I am Hoping we get the gamble/harbaugh combo this time around, but without giving up picks.

 

 

What are you even talking about? Caldwell never drafted Gabbert. Everything about this entire post is just completely inaccurate.

 

 

 

 

[slats]

I actually didn't know Caldwell worked for the Colts with Polian. Having said that, Gamble was still the name that Polian gave to Woody when he asked for a recommendation:

 

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/1/1/3826414/nfl-rumors-tom-gamble-jets-general-manager

 

And I like what Caldwell's doing down in Jax. Short-sighted people just look at the record and scoff, but at least you can see the foundation he's building.

How come you never provide a link when talking about Gamble's mysterious second interview? Or Woody waiting a week to confirm what he said about Rex the week before? I honestly didn't realize you knew how to do it.

[SOJFan]

the problem is the clueless owner, woody.   nobody good wants to come and join his circus.  #SOJ

[Dinamite]

What are you even talking about? Caldwell never drafted Gabbert. Everything about this entire post is just completely inaccurate.

I meant Blake bottles, my mistake. Nice having a dialogue with you.