TUESDAY, 6:00pm: The Jets announced (via Twitter) that Maccagnan has been named as the team’s new GM.
SUNDAY, 9:48am: The Jets are expected to name former Texans college scouting director Mike Maccagnan as their next GM, writes Kevin Patra of NFL.com, citing colleague Ian Rapoport. Maccagnan has been meeting with owner Woody Johnson over the past three days.
As Patra writes, Maccagnan is viewed as a very good talent evaluator, though the drafts in which he participated while with Houston yielded some mixed results. As PFR’s Zach Links wrote last week, the consensus among front office executives around the league is that Maccagnan is not ready to be an NFL general manager, but clearly the Jets feel differently. Charley Casserly, who served as a GM for Washington and the Texans in his career, has been Johnson’s most influential consultant in the hiring process, and he doubtlessly endorsed Maccagnan’s candidacy. Casserly and Maccagnan have developed a strong relationship over the past several decades, as Casserly hired Maccagnan while with Washington and Houston.
Maccagnan’s first task will be to find a new head coach to replace the recently-fired Rex Ryan, who was named as the Bills head coach this morning. As PFR’s Luke Adams wrote several days ago, Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has emerged as the favorite for the position, but Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will receive strong consideration and the team remains “intrigued” by Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.
Maccagnan will also be tasked with finding the team’s quarterback of the future. Geno Smith has disappointed and Michael Vick is nearing the end of his career, but the Jets do hold the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, which may net them a chance to select one of the year’s top two quarterback prospects, Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston.