NY Jets finally put GM search saga to rest and hire Darren Mougey

The Jets finally have a new GM!

Justin Fried

Woody Johnson / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages

The NY Jets have officially completed one of the most extensive searches for a new head coach and general manager in recent memory. Days after the team reached a deal with new head coach Aaron Glenn, the Jets have hired Darren Mougey as their next GM.

NFL insider Josina Anderson was first to report the news on Friday, insisting that Mougey, the now-former Denver Broncos assistant general manager, was expected to be named the Jets GM. A little over 24 hours later, multiple sources have confirmed Anderson's initial report.

Mougey has spent the last 13 years working with the Broncos, first starting as a scouting intern in 2012 before working his way up to the role of assistant general manager in just 10 years.

In fact, Mougey was promoted from area scout all the way to assistant GM in a three-year span between 2019 and 2022. His rapid rise up the ranks in the Broncos' organization likely contributed to the Jets' decision to hire him.

Darren Mougey is an exciting choice for NY Jets GM

Washington Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark was seen as the likely favorite for the position, given his ties to Glenn, but the Jets expanded their search to include Mougey and Cincinnati Bengals executive Trey Brown following his interview on Tuesday.

In the end, Mougey narrowly beat out Newmark and Brown, due in part to endorsements from the likes of Sean Payton and Broncos general manager George Paton. Mougey also has indirect ties to former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman, one of the individuals in charge of leading the Jets' search.

Paton spent over a decade working under Spielman in Minnesota before he was given the Broncos' general manager job. It's likely that both had a significant influence on the Jets' decision to hire Mougey.

Mougey quickly rose to become Paton's right-hand man in Denver, earning the rare distinction of being retained across multiple regimes. When Paton took over as general manager, he not only kept Mougey on board but also promoted him almost immediately.

The Jets are banking on Mougey and Glenn to lead the franchise into a new era, one defined by success rather than the struggles of previous regimes. The search is finally over.

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Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.