Upon clearing house midway through the campaign (by firing head coach Robert Saleh, and later general manager Joe Douglas), the Jets set themselves up for a lengthy offseason search process. The team took an unusual route to fill those positions, turning to the 33rd Team to play a leading role. 
In particular, that included former GMs Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman handling much of the work in identifying and interviewing candidates. The latter’s time with the franchise appeared to be over with Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey being hired, but that will not be the case. Spielman announced on Thursday (via his CBS Sports podcast) that he has accepted a full-time position with the Jets.
The 62-year-old will hold the title of senior football advisor with New York. This marks Spielman’s first role with an NFL team since his time with the Vikings came to an end. He operated as Minnesota’s general manager from 2012-21 (although he was also a central front office figure for the team in the six years which preceded that span). Spielman will obviously not have as large of a stake in decisions with the Jets as he did with the Vikings, though.
“Right now, my biggest project is trying to rebuild the football operation side of things,” Spielman explained of his new situation (h/t ESPN’s Rich Cimini). “There’s a lot of changes going on up there. I kind of feel honored and privileged that they called me to be part of it going forward.”
Spielman added that Mougey (who will have the final say on roster decisions) and Glenn will remain the central voices regarding major organizational moves. Still, his presence is noteworthy given his experience. Mougey, by contrast, is a first-time general manager; Glenn is likewise a rookie head coach. Having a veteran in the form of Spielman – who noted he is content to no longer be the top executive of an NFL team – could prove to be worthwhile.
In other Jets news (and as Cimini details), to replace recently departed co-director of player personnel Greg Nejmeh, Mougey has brought in a familiar face in the form of Rob Paton, with whom he worked in Denver. The nephew of Broncos GM George Paton, Rob had been with the Broncos since 2017 and worked as a scout. He will now take on new responsibilities in a Jets front office which includes Spielman.
I hoped this would happen, even more so once they hired a young first time GM who’s only ever worked in one front office. Spielman did great work helping Washington’s hiring process last year. He has a ton of front office experience, including time with an organization in Minnesota that’s consistently among the highest graded across the NFLPA report cards. To have a young first time GM working with the Johnsons, it makes sense having a veteran GM around, especially one the Johnsons have shown they trust to at least some degree.
ummm Joe Douglas was a first time GM and was young as well.
No one said otherwise? Read the comment and try again
I never said Douglas wasn’t. He was also older and had worked in three front offices instead of one prior to the Jets.
Detroit Lions add Bruce Gradkowski to coaching staff as an offensive assistant.
Bruce was the OC for the St. Louis Battlehawks the past 2 seasons.
Spielman’s last couple of drafts in MN were awful.
Thats bullcrap. His last drafts resulted in 3 pro bowlers, Darrisaw, Jefferson & Neangwu. Plus about 10 more guys still playing. Know your facts BEFORE you comment?
Actually it’s more like 15 to 20 guys still playing so he knows quite a bit.
Jets making some grown up decisions lol. Really like their offseason so far.
With a weak QB draft & uninspiring vet options think they bring Rodgers back
The Jets are the champions of the offseason. The rest of the year is their problem.
Hopefully they keep him away from the draft. Nobody values 7th rounders more than Spielman! Would constantly trade back 20 spots in first few rounds for an additional 7th rounder. Drove me nuts!
It was a strange strategy for sure. Ironically, the 7th round pick that the Vikings got good value from was Captain Munnerlyn…but he was drafted by the Panthers.
Hey, why not hire yourself. After all, who’s the best man for the job.
Take a good look at his last 2 drafts. At least 15 guys are still playing. That is 5 years later. 1 guy is 1st Team All Pro, JJets. I think he might be better than ANY fired gm over the last 3 years and probably top 5 of any gm. Check it out for yourself? Somebody prove me wrong or right?
Wow the Jets did something good here.