Jets' front office shakeup puts everyone on notice

[doitny]

Jets' front office shakeup puts everyone on notice

Story by Rich Cimini • 1h

 

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:

1. Front-office casualty: Folks in the scouting community were stunned by the news assistant general manager Rex Hogan is no longer with the Jets.

It broke on Wednesday, with the NFL world stationed in Mobile, Alabama, for the Senior Bowl, but his departure actually occurred immediately after the season, according to people familiar with the situation. That it stayed quiet for three weeks fueled an air of mystery. Curiosity was sparked when Hogan didn't show up for the Senior Bowl, one of the biggest scouting events on the pre-draft calendar.

Hogan worked alongside GM Joe Douglas for nearly five years and was an important voice in draft and pro personnel decisions. Hogan was the Jets' director of college scouting from 2015 to '17, under former GM Mike Maccagnan, then returned after a two-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts to work as the No. 2 person in the football operation. In his season-ending news conference, Douglas made no reference to potential changes, but he emphasized the need for "reflection" and "learning from some of the decisions that didn't work out."

One was the decision to draft former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick in 2021. Hogan, who developed scouting connections at BYU while working years ago as the director of football operations at the University of Utah, was known to be a strong advocate for Wilson during the draft process. An executive from another team, who knows Hogan personally, theorized it may have been a factor in letting him go.

Chances are, it was more than that. Teams make changes when seasons go wrong; it's a fact of life in the NFL. The Jets haven't had a winning season since 2015. Hogan's ouster -- one source described it as mutual -- certainly reinforces the message everybody in the organization is on notice in 2024.

If the Jets replace Hogan, they likely will stay in-house. It's late in the game to bring in someone from the outside. They could also wait until after the draft.

2. Willing his way: After a non-descript rookie season that caused extreme frustration at times, defensive end Will McDonald vowed to crush the offseason and return in 2024 as a different player. It wasn't just lip service. McDonald, drafted 15th overall in 2023, already is back in Florham Park working out at the team's facility. When the season was over, he went home to visit family in Wisconsin, took a brief vacation to Miami and flew back to New Jersey.

 

This is a pivotal offseason for McDonald, who played 192 defensive snaps as a rookie -- tied with Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith for the fewest offensive or defensive snaps among 2023 first-round picks. In fact, it was the fewest by a Jets first-round pick since defensive end Vernon Gholston (2008).

The Jets want McDonald to get bigger and stronger. He finished the year at 237 pounds, and his goal is to be at least 250 by the season. The team is hoping he can pull a Jermaine Johnson, meaning a giant leap from Year 1 to Year 2.

"Will is a hell of a player; that'll always be the fact," Johnson said. "So now, just kind of similar to what I did, I recognized what gifts God blessed me with. I recognized that the only thing that could stop me was what's in here (points to his heart) and what's in here (points to his head).

"I just went with that into the offseason and it ended up working out pretty good. I think if Will makes sure his heart and his mind are on the right thing this offseason, he'll be just fine."

 

Coach Robert Saleh said McDonald has "superstar" potential. Buried in a deep defensive-line rotation, McDonald's opportunities were limited but he had three sacks. After four productive seasons at Iowa State, the lack of playing time was a shock to his system. It got to a point where he wondered if the Jets were the right fit. He hit the reset button and now is looking forward to a significant role. The Jets will be relying on him, especially if they lose edge rusher Bryce Huff in free agency.

3. Back to work: Saleh's staff returns to work Monday after an extended break. There will be at least two new faces among the coaches -- Tony Dews (running backs) and Shawn Jefferson (wide receivers). It's a return engagement for Jefferson, who served as Adam Gase's receivers coach and assistant head coach in 2019 and 2020.

4. Looking for bigs: The tackle-needy Jets, picking 10th overall, have been linked to Penn State's Olumuyiwa Fashanu in many mock drafts, but there are two other tackles that bear watching: Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga and Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton, both of whom impressed in Senior Bowl practices.

 

Douglas has been talking up Fuaga for months, according to a person familiar with his thinking. This doesn't mean he's going to pick Fuaga because you never know how the draft will shake out, but it's an intriguing option in a deep tackle class.

One school of thought making the rounds is Douglas could trade down, take Fuaga or Guyton in the middle of the first round and recoup a second-round pick. Currently, the Jets don't have a second rounder, a big hole in their draft. It belongs to the Green Bay Packers from the Aaron Rodgers trade.

5. Another Brock Purdy? The Jets will receive three seventh-round compensatory picks in the upcoming draft, according to a projection by Over The Cap. The NFL uses a complicated formula based on free-agent losses and gains to determine compensatory picks.

If this projection holds, the Jets will have the last pick (256). They've never had a "Mr. Irrelevant" pick in the post-merger era (since 1970).

 

6. Super sleepers: Two of the key players in Super Bowl LVIII -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco -- were seventh-round steals. Which triggers a question: When was the Jets' last impactful seventh-round pick?

You have to go back to nose tackle Jason Ferguson (1997), who started seven years before signing a big free-agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

7. Did you know? 49ers backup Sam Darnold, drafted third overall by the Jets in 2018, became the first quarterback in his star-studded draft class to reach the Super Bowl. His classmates include Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.

8. Super connections: Other than Darnold, former Jets in the Super Bowl are wide receiver Mecole Hardman, defensive tackle Mike Pennel and running back La'Mical Perine -- all on the Chiefs' roster. Safety Trey Dean, who spent the season on the Jets' practice squad, belongs to the Chiefs' practice squad.

 

9. Four! Rodgers, who won the amateur portion of the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, returned this weekend with a noticeably lower handicap. There was some grumbling among competitors when he won last year with a 10-handicap. This time, he played to a 4-handicap and didn't come close to winning.

10. The good doctor: Many of the foursomes in the pro-am field included two celebrity athletes, but not Rodgers' group. His fellow celeb was Neal ElAttrache, the man who performed his Achilles surgery in September.

[OilfieldJet]

Happy for Sam.

[jetspenguin]

Coach Robert Saleh said McDonald has "superstar" potential


LOL

Sent from the FOREVER AND EVER Suicide Watch desk.

[southparkcpa]

THIS is the constant amongst Jets 1st round picks.

JD just flat out sucks at drafting.   

 

tied with Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith for the fewest offensive or defensive snaps among 2023 first-round picks.

 

[JetsFanatic]

22 hours ago, southparkcpa said:

THIS is the constant amongst Jets 1st round picks.

JD just flat out sucks at drafting.   

 

tied with Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith for the fewest offensive or defensive snaps among 2023 first-round picks.

 

No he doesn’t, he’s added a lot of talent since 2019.

The problem is he’s been bad at drafting QBs. Zach set us back tremendously and Morgan also was horrible at 4.

[AFJF]

19 minutes ago, southparkcpa said:

THIS is the constant amongst Jets 1st round picks.

JD just flat out sucks at drafting.   

 

tied with Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith for the fewest offensive or defensive snaps among 2023 first-round picks.

 

It's not that he sucks at drafting as much as it's the fact that this isn't Madden, the coaches don't coach, and many of the picks have been seriously hindered by injuries.

[T0mShane]

Super, super weird that they’d try to hang Zach Wilson around Hogan’s neck

[Creepy Lurker]

1 minute ago, T0mShane said:

Super, super weird that they’d try to hang Zach Wilson around Hogan’s neck

I HATE this whole regime so much. At least having AR on the team should have been enjoyable and a fan’s dream but it’s way too tainted. It’s really bizarre when you have a legendary QB on your team and just want it to blow up instead. F*ck this franchise. I’m only here to watch the car wreck with my fellow misguided fans who happened to also pick the worst franchise in sports. 

[C Mart]

"Safety Trey Dean, who spent the season on the Jets' practice squad, belongs to the Chiefs' practice squad."

 

He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.

Kansas City Chiefs

On January 17, 2024, Dean was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.

[The Crusher]

Only thing I know notice  is the absolutely abysmal loss record these unprepared  drowning   clowns have produced. Kind of hard to miss. It’s like, “why are you still here?”

[JetsFanatic]

19 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Super, super weird that they’d try to hang Zach Wilson around Hogan’s neck

Hogan may have recommended drafting Zach, but the ultimate responsibility lies with Douglas. Of course we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. There is probably more to this dismissal than we know or what has been reported.

[T0mShane]

10 minutes ago, JetsFanatic said:

Hogan may have recommended drafting Zach, but the ultimate responsibility lies with Douglas. Of course we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. There is probably more to this dismissal than we know or what has been reported.

What we’re seeing is that Douglas was at the Senior Bowl and Rex Hogan wasn’t, so Douglas was able to knife anyone he wanted to uncontested

[dbatesman]

I know there’s a huge asterisk next to it, but Sam Darnold getting to the Super Bowl before Josh Allen is extremely funny

[T0mShane]

1 hour ago, jetspenguin said:

Coach Robert Saleh said McDonald has "superstar" potential


LOL

Sent from the FOREVER AND EVER Suicide Watch desk.
 

<Will McDonald is back working out at the facility in late January>
 

Jets fan: Haha what a loser I hope he fails.

[Creepy Lurker]

1 minute ago, T0mShane said:

What we’re seeing is that Douglas was at the Senior Bowl and Rex Hogan wasn’t, so Douglas was able to knife anyone he wanted to uncontested

I wish someone would harpoon him. 

[jetspenguin]

 
Jets fan: Haha what a loser I hope he fails.

That must have been meant for another post because clearly, I said nothing about hoping he fails.

I laughed at Saleh's comment because he says this kind of sh*t about EVERY player.

Sent from the FOREVER AND EVER Suicide Watch desk.

[Darnold's Forehead]

Can someone in the media please ask Saleh what the slogan is this year?  Are we at 80% yet?

[Alka]

1 hour ago, T0mShane said:

Super, super weird that they’d try to hang Zach Wilson around Hogan’s neck

Zach Wilson hangs around all their necks, but they won't fire themselves.  Hogan deserves as much blame as all of them.

[doitny]

36 minutes ago, JetsFanatic said:

Hogan may have recommended drafting Zach, but the ultimate responsibility lies with Douglas. Of course we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. There is probably more to this dismissal than we know or what has been reported.

true but like you said we dont know what happened behind the scenes. he could have been pushing really hard for him and it does say Hogan had BYU connections.

" JD trust me, trade Sam and take this Zach kid. i have connections there and there all telling me this kid is great. im so confident in this kid that if he fails you can fire me "

lol

[Alka]

10 minutes ago, Darnold&#x27;s Forehead said:

Can someone in the media please ask Saleh what the slogan is this year?  Are we at 80% yet?

Do you remember when we drafted Zach Wilson, and Saleh told Zach on the phone that we will lift you up; you won't have to lift everyone else up? I'm paraphrasing here.

I think Saleh's slogan should be: "We lift each other up, up into the sky". 

That would be appropriate.  I'm sure Zach Wilson remembers those wonderful words from Saleh.  

[playtowinthegame]

18 minutes ago, Darnold's Forehead said:

Can someone in the media please ask Saleh what the slogan is this year?  Are we at 80% yet?

 

The 2024 slogan will be: Always Be Closing or hit the bricks.

[varjet]

This is all the Tao of Woody.

He hires bad people and manages them poorly.  As the results stink, her makes them fire their subordinates who cost less to fire.  Eventually, he fires the senior people.  JD and Saleh know they are dead men walking, but they are too expensive to kill now.  That cost will become more reasonable in the next year.  

It’s like some cruel, WASPy torture device.  

[Larz]

I’m so mad !

[Matt39]

45 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

<Will McDonald is back working out at the facility in late January>
 

Jets fan: Haha what a loser I hope he fails.

Can’t believe he’s at the facility on his VACATION. He’s making the QB look bad.

[Jet Blast]

32 minutes ago, Darnold&#x27;s Forehead said:

Can someone in the media please ask Saleh what the slogan is this year?  Are we at 80% yet?

All gasbag. That's the breaks!

[SomebodytoAnybody47]

Hogan was trash. JD will dominate. LFG 

McDonald will prob be second in sacks next year. Easy call. 

[T0mShane]

10 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

Can’t believe he’s at the facility on his VACATION. He’s making the QB look bad.

He had a rough year and should be on a beach reading a book somewhere imho

[TuscanyTile2]

22 minutes ago, playtowinthegame said:

The 2024 slogan will be: Always Be Closing or hit the bricks.

We need the Glengarry draft picks.

[T0mShane]

31 minutes ago, Alka said:

Zach Wilson hangs around all their necks, but they won't fire themselves.  Hogan deserves as much blame as all of them.

I doubt it was Hogan running Zach Wilson on to the field for 33 starts

[32EBoozer]

2 hours ago, doitny said:

The Jets want McDonald to get bigger and stronger. He finished the year at 237 pounds, and his goal is to be at least 250 by the season. The team is hoping he can pull a Jermaine Johnson, meaning a giant leap from Year 1 to Year 2.

"Will is a hell of a player; that'll always be the fact," Johnson said. "So now, just kind of similar to what I did, I recognized what gifts God blessed me with. I recognized that the only thing that could stop me was what's in here (points to his heart) and what's in here (points to his head).

"I just went with that into the offseason and it ended up working out pretty good. I think if Will makes sure his heart and his mind are on the right thing this offseason, he'll be just fine."

 

I liked this player from the moment he was drafted! Loved his style, his blazer and what was inscribed inside the jacket, loved how he spent time hugging his JUCO coach who gushed over the kind of person he was. Loved how he stayed upbeat during a rough rookie season and then committed himself in the offseason. I love that he's quietly becoming a leader in the locker room.

In other words...

[TuscanyTile2]

1 hour ago, southparkcpa said:

THIS is the constant amongst Jets 1st round picks.

JD just flat out sucks at drafting.   

 

tied with Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith for the fewest offensive or defensive snaps among 2023 first-round picks.

 

It's funny you're saying that because I feel like that's his strength - lol.  (You might be right, btw).

[JiFtheOracle]

1 hour ago, JetsFanatic said:

Hogan may have recommended drafting Zach, but the ultimate responsibility lies with Douglas. Of course we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. There is probably more to this dismissal than we know or what has been reported.

Even if Hogan did persuade them into taking Zach, was is it his decision to start him right away w/ no veteran back up?  Was it his decision to keep him here and back up Rodgers?  Is it him telling the organization to treat Zachapono like a baby bitch because feelings?

 

[SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN]

Anyone working for the Jets knows that their job will be temporary at best .

[TuscanyTile2]

8 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

Even if Hogan did persuade them into taking Zach, was is it his decision to start him right away w/ no veteran back up?  Was it his decision to keep him here and back up Rodgers?  Is it him telling the organization to treat Zachapono like a baby bitch because feelings?

And was it Rex Hogan telling JD to move on from MFW (who was clearly no titty-baby)?

_{I just wanted an excuse to say titty-baby, another T0mShane classic!}

[Matt39]

20 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

Even if Hogan did persuade them into taking Zach, was is it his decision to start him right away w/ no veteran back up?  Was it his decision to keep him here and back up Rodgers?  Is it him telling the organization to treat Zachapono like a baby bitch because feelings?

 

McDonald back at the facility for the offseason. Zach in Bora Bora. Sums up the Jets.