The old college try
Insider: Jets on verge of hiring Texans’ aide as GM
The Jets should have a new general manager on Monday.
Mike Maccagnan remained in New Jersey on Sunday and all signs point to him being named the new Jets GM soon, according to sources.
Maccagnan, the director of college scouting for the Texans, has been seen as the favorite to land the job since the Jets asked him to return for a second interview Friday. That interview extended into the weekend as the Jets and Maccagnan made sure it was a match and he was the right person to replace the fired John Idzik. The Jets may have been delaying the hire to avoid sharing or stealing the spotlight from the NFL playoff games over the weekend.
Un like Idzik , Maccagnan comes to the Jets with an extensive background in personnel. He has worked in NFL scouting departments since 1995. Charley Casserly, who is serving as a consultant for the Jets in the search, hired Maccagnan in 1995 with the Redskins and again in 2000 with the Texans when Casserly was the GM in both places.
Sources said Ron Wolf, who is also consulting for the Jets on the hire, took the lead in Maccagnan’s f i rs t interview and came away impressed.
Maccagnan is well-respected around the league as a talent evaluator. A league source described Maccagnan as very thorough and someone who will work well with a head coach and other members of the organization. A source said the Jets were impressed with Maccagnan’s vision of how to build a team.
The Jets fired both Idzik and coach Rex Ryan two weeks ago after a dismal 4-12 season. They have conducted both GM and coaching searches since then, but their desire was to hire a GM first. Maccagnan was one of six people to interview for the job, but the only one asked back for a second interview.
Once the GM is hired, the Jets can zero in on a head coach. The front-runner for that job is Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, but the Jets cannot offer him the job until Seattle is eliminated from the playoffs.
The Je t s discussed flying to Seattle immediately if the Seahawks lost to the Panthers on Saturday night, a source confirmed. But the Seahawks won and they face the Packers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. If Seattle advances to the Super Bowl, the Jets could be waiting three weeks before hiring him. The longer it goes, the more difficult it is to put a coaching staff together.
There is also no guarantee Quinn wants to join the Jets. He has interviewed with four of the teams that currently have coaching vacancies and is considered one of the top candidates for the Jets, Bears, Falcons and 49ers.
The Quinn sweep stakes leaves teams watching the playoffs, waiting to make coaching decisions on who becomes available.
If the Jets sense Quinn wants to go elsewhere, they may turn to Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, whom they interviewed and with whom they also were impressed . Bowles can be hired immediately. He is also seen as a top candidate for the Falcons, according to an NFL.com report.
The Jets have interviewed six candidates for the head coaching job. They also requested to speak with Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, but he declined to interview with teams for head coaching openings and is staying in Baltimore.