The Jets hope Douglas can galvanize the team and lead them back to respectabilityGETTY IMAGES
The Jets have hired Eagles VP/Player Personnel Joe Douglas -- an "ally of new coach Adam Gase" -- as their new GM, becoming the team's "fourth GM in the past eight years," according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. A source said that the Jets are "giving Douglas a six-year deal." The franchise hopes Douglas can "galvanize an organization in turmoil" in the aftermath of former Jets GM Mike Maccagnan's "surprising ouster." A source said that the Jets "would not take no for an answer from Douglas." He "tried to turn down the job, and each time he did, the team came back at him harder and harder and simply was not going to be denied in its efforts to land him" (ESPN.com, 6/8). The AP's Dennis Waszak Jr. wrote Douglas is now tasked with "leading the team back to respectability." Douglas was "widely considered as one of the league's up-and-coming potential general managers." Douglas and Gase will report to Jets Chair & CEO Christopher Johnson separately, a structure Johnson "has said he believes is most effective" (AP, 6/7).
HIGH PRAISE: ESPN.com's Cimini wrote on the surface, Douglas is a "very good hire by the Jets." But this "isn't your typical GM gig" (ESPN.com, 6/7). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote the Jets "deserve praise" for hiring Douglas. It is "far better to have everyone on the same page, and Douglas and Gase will be on the same page" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 6/8). THE MMQB's Albert Breer writes for "all the pain the Jets went through to get here," there is a "better-than-good chance that hiring Joe Douglas will be worth it." That is because Douglas is "among the most respected scouts, at any level, in all of football, and one of the few who you really never hear anything negative about." Breer notes he would "consider the six years on Douglas' deal vital, mainly because of the lingering unknown of how secure the new GM would be when Woody Johnson returns from the U.K., which could happen as soon as next year" (SI.com, 6/10).
SURPRISE ADDITION? ESPN.com's Cimini reported ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay is "under consideration for a front-office role" with the Jets under Douglas. McShay and Douglas were teammates at the Univ. of Richmond in the late '90s. McShay is "expected to speak with Douglas around mid-week" (ESPN.com, 6/8). In New Jersey, Andy Vasquez wrote it is "unclear what McShay's role would be in the Jets' new-look front office" (Bergen RECORD, 6/9).
UNCHARTED TERRITORY: ESPN.com's Cimini noted the three "most important figures" in the Jets organization -- Douglas, Gase and QB Sam Darnold -- are represented by CAA's Jimmy Sexton. This "creates the potential of a conflict of interest, especially when Darnold's contract can be renegotiated" in '21. Ostensibly, Douglas will be "across the bargaining table from the man who represents him, too." This is "highly unusual" (ESPN.com, 6/9).
