Analysis: Jets get GM hire right with Mike Maccagnan
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson finally got it right when he leaned on the advice of former Super Bowl-winning, general managers-turned-consultants Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf in naming Mike Maccagnan his new general manager after a two-week search.
A football man and a one-time Division III Trinity College (Conn.) nose tackle with a nose for finding players succeeding fired salary-cap guru GM John Idzik? Great move, Woody, if you hope to compete in a division dominated by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
Maccagnan, 47, is Casserly's protégé dating to their time together with the Washington Redskins during the early 1990s, and continuing when Casserly was hired as the first general manager of the expansion Houston Texans in 2002.
A former Texans director of college since 2011, Maccagnan spent the past 21 seasons in personnel evaluation, and his hiring marks a dramatic change from Idzik, whose background was in contract negotiations and salary-cap management. Idzik's inexperience in personnel resulted in the Jets' 4-12 crash that ended with his firing, as well as that of coach Rex Ryan.
The Jets' new GM got to work early, tabbing Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as the team's head coach late Tuesday night.
Maccagnan will also have an early chance to prove his scouting acumen as the franchise is armed with the sixth overall pick in May's draft along with more than $40 million in salary-cap space to spend in free agency.
In tandem with Texans general manager Rick Smith, Maccagnan helped infuse the Texans with 12 Pro Bowlers, including the 2014 favorite to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors J.J. Watt, wide receiver Andre Johnson, former Texans defensive end Mario Williams (now with the Buffalo Bills) and undrafted running back Arian Foster.
"Mike Maccagnan is an outstanding football man, one who is highly organized, and an excellent evaluator. He is very thorough in his preparation and will do a terrific job for the Jets,'' Casserly, the current NFL Network analyst said.
Never heard of Maccagnan? That's probably because the Hightstown, N.J. has been too busy on the road scouting college prospects since he began his NFL career as a scout with the Redskins in 1994.