New York Jets: Examining the Work of Mike Maccagnan

Feb 1, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Jets owner

y Johnson speaks at the Super Bowl XLVIII handoff ceremony to the Arizona host committee at Super Bowl Boulevard on Broadway. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With Mike Maccagnan being in New Jersey interviewing with the Jets all weekend and rumors circulating that he will indeed be named the new General Manager of the New York Jets as soon as Monday, it is time to evaluate him and determine if he is, indeed, the right man for the job.

#Jets are expected to hire #Texans college scouting director Mike Maccagnan as the new GM, per source. No surprise, he’s been in town 3 days

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2015

Maccagnan, Houston’s Director of College Scouting, has been with the organization and has risen from a scout through his current position. According to sources quoted in this New York Post article by Brian Costello, Maccagnan was described as:

A league source who is familiar with Maccagnan said he is a very thorough, competent person who will be able to work well with a head coach and others in the organization. The source said Maccagnan has a solid plan on how to build a team, something the Jets surely saw in the interview.

Among Maccagnan’s draft hits are NFL MVP candidate DE J.J. Watt, WR DeAndre Hopkins, LB Whitney Mercilus and DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney (who was injured this year but should be a star opposite Watt). All are 1st round picks, but he also chose RB Alfred Blue and DT Chris Jones in round six  along with four out of five of the offensive line via the draft, with only one of them being 1st round picks.

The Jets need a man to run the organization that has the scouting chops to run a personnel department to go in tandem with the ability to work in lockstep with the head coach and build a team around that coach’s scheme. John Idzik had some scouting background but mainly was a “cap guy” that had been a part of some good front offices (Tampa Bay, Arizona, Seattle).

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He wasn’t a scouting director and did not rise through the ranks of the personnel department. Idzik might have been able to overcome those obstacles if he had the ability to trust his staff and work with his head coach to fill holes on the roster and fit Rex Ryan’s scheme. The reports of Idzik being someone who did not trust those around him and vice versa was really what did him in.

Maccagnan seems like the anti-Idzik in these regards. He is a respected personnel man who is described as “brilliant” by one of Costello’s sources in the Post article.  His ability to sell himself, his vision and the ability to supplement the needs of the head coach is what makes Maccagnan the right man for the job.

This search has focused on individuals with the skill set that Maccagnan has and his ability to stand out from his peers in the interviews along with his reputation in the league leave me with the impression that the Jets are in good hands and are headed in the right direction.