Douglas Hire has Different Feel Than Predecessors, and it Should

[JetNation]

So now the Jets have a shiny new General Manager to roll out for the next step toward what they hope will be a championship roster at some point in the not-so-distant future in Joe Douglas.  One thing is for certain as Douglas takes over, and that’s the fact that his arrival has a different feel than each of the past few Jets General Managers who were hired by Gang Green.

Douglas follows Mike Maccagnan, who followed John Idzik, who replaced Mike Tannenbaum.  Three men who may very well be some of the nicest guys you’d ever meet, but all landed a gig that they probably weren’t qualified for, and the fact that there was no demand for their services from any other club speaks volumes.

Tannenbaum rode the coat tails of Bill Parcells after impressing the Hall of Fame head coach with his mastery of the salary cap, but he lacked the command a GM should have, often relying too heavily on the wants and desires of his head coaches on draft day.  A GM should have the confidence to work with a coach to gain consensus on which players to take.  He shouldn’t hand full control to the coach and get out of the way.

Idzik was clearly the worst of the three by a wide margin.  In two drafts he chose 19 players with just two of them playing at a high level at any point in Sheldon Richardson and Quincy Enunwa.  Most of the 19 picks were out of the NFL within a couple of years and his first round picks consisted of Richardson, Calvin Pryor and Dee Milliner.  When his team was in dire need of a number one cornerback, Idzik passed on several highly thought of candidates and landed Dimitri Patterson, who walked out on the team before a pre-season game just a few months later and never played a snap as a Jet.

Then there’s Maccagnan, whose draft record was weak and his hesitancy to pull the trigger on potential deals frustrated ownership.  He does leave the Jets in good shape with a franchise QB and multiple pro bowlers and all pros to move forward with along with several highly skilled pass catchers.

What makes the Douglas hire different however, is the fact that his resume dwarfs that of Tannenbaum, Idzik and Maccagnan.  Having spent 16 years working under Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore, he’s had a front row seat to watch one of the best GM’s ever to do it.  By spending a few years in Philadelphia, he gained exposure to one of the league’s more respected cap guru’s in Howie Roseman, playing a role in the construction of two super bowl winning teams in different cities.

Instead of bringing in another Idzik or Maccagnan, who no other team expressed interest in, and who NFL insiders had to dig deep to find out about, Douglas was supposedly on many radars as an up and coming executive who was destined to be a GM.  He has the type of resume that candidates in the past have rebuffed job offers, or even interviews with the Jets.

This is different because for once, this isn’t a case of taking the best guy who was willing to take the job, but a case of landing one of their top two choices (George Paton of the Vikings being the other) by refusing to take no for an answer.  The Jets more than doubled the value of their initial offer to Douglas according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, and gave him a whopping six-year deal.  That contract takes him beyond that of head coach Adam Gase, meaning he has probably been assured a chance to hire his own coach if life with Gase doesn’t work out.

How this plays out from this point on is anybody’s guess, but no matter which direction things go, the Jets can rest easy in knowing that they didn’t have to hire from the best of a bad batch and they landed a highly respected executive who has the years of experience to justify the opportunity he has been given.

 

 

 

 

The post Douglas Hire has Different Feel Than Predecessors, and it Should appeared first on JetNation.com (NY Jets Blog & Forum).

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[BornJetsFan1983]

Clap

[Bocajetfan]

3 minutes ago, BornJetsFan1983 said:

Clap

The sound or the disease 

[T0mShane]

What makes it different is that they gave him a lot of money, years, and control, which will make the job more appealing if/when Douglas moves on. This hire was a big-boy move and they stepped up to get it done.

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

3 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

What makes it different is that they gave him a lot of money, years, and control, which will make the job more appealing if/when Douglas moves on. This hire was a big-boy move and they stepped up to get it done.

THIS time it's different.

-- every single one of you, every single time

[The Crusher]

I wonder how Elizabeth Hurley feels about this move? Ever since that picture of her standing next to a Woody I feel she is connected to the team. 

[Charlie Brown]

GREAT ARTICLE!!!

I can say without hesitation this is the best I have felt about the organization as an organization since when they hired Parcells as the HC and the defacto GM.

Organizationally the Jets have been a mess.  This is a powerful change. Does it guarantee Super Bowel success? No!

But it does probably forestall institutional ineptitude.  

And that means so much.... 

I for one love what the Jets and CJ are doing and am not afraid to say so...

 

[New York Mick]

I’ll wait 3 or 4 years before I’ll have any clue. 

[T0mShane]

11 minutes ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

THIS time it's different.

-- every single one of you, every single time

I’m not saying the results will be different. I’m saying this process looked more, shall we say, composed? 

[NoBowles]

We hired a scouts scout, who values productivity over measurables, @dbatesman Is going to have Douglas in a collar and on a leash like his little bitch 

[Ohio State NY Jets fan]

Good article and points on Ozzie and Roseman - Ozzie is one if the best ever and even though many thought the Eagles were nuts when they went all in on QB's, they got their franchise and won a Lombardi - can't argue with the results

Douglas played the game, has more experience than any Jets GM in memory and a working relationship with the HC - the contract also should dispel any "puppet GM" press by the crappy NY media  so at least he has a chance, time will tell on results

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

6 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

I’m not saying the results will be different. I’m saying this process looked more, shall we say, composed? 

So we're talking like eight-peat, twelve-peat, somewhere in there?

[T0mShane]

2 minutes ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

So we're talking like eight-peat, twelve-peat, somewhere in there?

I’m settling for not-embarrassing-in-consecutive-years-peat so my bar is admittedly #low

[Larz]

Second only to Parcells 

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

15 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

I’m settling for not-embarrassing-in-consecutive-years-peat so my bar is admittedly #low

Yeah, it's only been since like 1985-86. Not a huge ask at all. 

[BornJetsFan1983]

42 minutes ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

THIS time it's different.

-- every single one of you, every single time

Haha but seriously it is diff this time

[southparkcpa]

At least we are making moves that seem to make sense.  

I have been critical of ownership for a long time but this appears to be a very real and thought out process. 

BUT... I liked MACs resume too and we saw how that went. 

BTW... I don’t think the gap between Idzik and MAC was that large. MAC was pretty bad. 

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

8 minutes ago, BornJetsFan1983 said:

Haha but seriously it is diff this time

A different feel. A different texture. A different je ne sais quois.

[BROOKLYN JET]

Show me on the doll where the predecessors touched you...

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

38 minutes ago, NoBowles said:

We hired a scouts scout, who values productivity over measurables

He does?

[NoBowles]

3 minutes ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

He does?

That’s what I read

[David Harris]

I like that it sounds like Douglas not only took care of himself financially but wanted to make sure the money was there to build out the organization with quality scouts and front office guys.

i know CJ got a lot of heat w the Mac fire timing and maybe he fell into this situation of having no competition for the best candidate but it has worked out beautifully.

A young FQB a young future all pro Safety leading the defense. A young offensive minded progressive HC who is on the same page as his GM. The best GM candidate in the NFL.   This is the team we root for- what a breath of fresh air.  

AND new uniforms

 

[Losmeister]

51 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

I’m not saying the results will be different. I’m saying this process looked more, shall we say, composed? 

It is the move of a team that is serious about trying to win. it's one thing to say the words, another to act.

The variety of possible outcome is still large, cos, well, Jets...   

[ASH1962]

13 minutes ago, southparkcpa said:

At least we are making moves that seem to make sense.  

I have been critical of ownership for a long time but this appears to be a very real and thought out process. 

BUT... I liked MACs resume too and we saw how that went. 

BTW... I don’t think the gap between Idzik and MAC was that large. MAC was pretty bad. 

I dunno, we have a potent roster on paper now, much more so then after Idzik, no? Mac did leave us in fairly good shape as the article stated imo.

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

9 minutes ago, NoBowles said:

That’s what I read

Right. So it's not something you could be expected to expand on, support with evidence, or speak to in any meaningful way, You're just doing the football words.

[Scott Dierking]

16 minutes ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

He does?

Supposedly the word is that productivity over analytics. Difference there.

And for me, analytics in football are highly suspect in determining draft candidates.

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

1 minute ago, Scott Dierking said:

Supposedly the word is that productivity over analytics. Difference there.

I don't know what the distinction between those two concepts is in your mind because keeping track of productivity and using it to inform decisions is basically the definition of what analytics is. 'Measurables' is closer to what I assume you're trying to say but it's al word vomit.

[NoBowles]

20 minutes ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

Right. So it's not something you could be expected to expand on, support with evidence, or speak to in any meaningful way, You're just doing the football words.

I just talk sh*t with no backup at all, it’s how I roll 

[BroadwayJoe12]

The biggest difference seems to with regards to an actual plan. Regardless of outcome, there was clearly a ?well-thought out design, which was linearly executed over the better part of a year. They had a specific situation in mind, they went out and achieved it. That in and of itself is a shift in how this franchise has conducted themselves over the couple decades. It could still go t!ts up, but there is a feeling of competence for the time being.

[Matt39]

24 minutes ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

Right. So it's not something you could be expected to expand on, support with evidence, or speak to in any meaningful way, You're just doing the football words.

Outside of the Jets being the Jets doing Jets things. Not much else but blind hope. The Eagles are good and probably hire good people. Hopefully he wasnt over promoted.

[docdhc]

Does it  bother anyone that he seemed to need convincing to take the job?  It was reported he didn’t want the job but was finally won over after several offers by an overwhelming financial sum and six year length of contract. Taking a job just for the money can lead to trouble later on. I hope he really wants it. 

[Sperm Edwards]

4 hours ago, ASH1962 said:

I dunno, we have a potent roster on paper now, much more so then after Idzik, no? Mac did leave us in fairly good shape as the article stated imo.

Macc had 5 offseasons of compiling players. Idzik sucked and was deservedly fired, but he had just 2 offseasons to Macc's 5; the first of which was a full-on cap purge season post-Tannenbaum, in a weak draft to boot. Never took his chance to spend all the cap space he'd saved up, but that's the bed he made. Still, if you want to make an apples to apples comparison, at least compare the state of the team after the 2014 season to the team right after the 2016 season. 

Whatever. Hopefully the new GM makes it beyond arguable that he's not as bad as either of his 2 predecessors.

[RutgersJetFan]

This is exactly what Americans said when Millard Filmore got elected and we all know how that worked out.

[Maxman]

5 hours ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

THIS time it's different.

-- every single one of you, every single time

From the reaction I read people are happy with the move but I haven't see this overreaction of people calling for Jets domination. People feel like this was a good move because 1) Macc is gone and 2) the Jets made a big commitment to a respected candidate.

No reason to hate on people for being happy.

[Maxman]

2 hours ago, docdhc said:

Does it  bother anyone that he seemed to need convincing to take the job?  It was reported he didn’t want the job but was finally won over after several offers by an overwhelming financial sum and six year length of contract. Taking a job just for the money can lead to trouble later on. I hope he really wants it. 

Does it bother me that the guy we just put in charge of the roster is a great negotiator? Hell no. He understood his worth, he didn't blink and he got more money.

The Jets need the person in this role to be tough because Gase is a nut job and someone has to keep him in check.