Jets Tab Rookie GM; Rinse, Wash, Repeat

Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Darren Mougey’s ascension to the Jets General Manager choice came about as stealthily as his rise up the executive ladder in Denver. Mougey, 39, was a mere area scout six years ago, but then the promotions stacked up, first to Assistant Director of Area Scouting, then to Director of Player Personnel, and finally to Assistant General Manager, the job he’s held for the last three seasons.

Few NFL experts had Mougey as a contender for the Jets gig at the beginning of the race, as he was just one of 16 candidates to interview in an exhaustive search conducted by the outsourced firm, The 33^rd Team, whose principals include Rick Spielman. When Spielman was the Vikings’ GM, his assistant was George Paton, who happens to be Denver’s current GM.

Since new Head Coach Aaron Glenn was reportedly involved with the second interview GM process, he may have sought confirmation on Mougey’s readiness from Denver HC Sean Payton, who had Glenn on his staff during his New Orleans tenure.

Obviously, Paton and Payton must have delivered rave reviews on Mougey to the Jets, who once again bit on an unknown with no direct previous experience in the job. Mougey was said to be influential in Denver’s rebuild into a playoff team this season, but it’s hard to be sure since it was Paton who pulled the trigger on all roster decisions like drafting All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II and quarterback Bo Nix. Just like we’ll never know Mike Maccagnan’s actual role as Scouting Director in Houston’s 2011 selection of future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt before Maccagnan talked his way into becoming the Jets’ GM four years later. Mougey’s predecessor Joe Douglas also came from the scouting world, where he too wallowed in great success behind the scenes only to bungle key personnel decisions in his first turn at the wheel in New York.

The Jets’ two other reported finalists, Washington assistant GM Lance Newmark, who previously overlapped Glenn in Detroit, and Cincinnati senior executive Trey Brown, would have also been making their GM debuts had either of them been tabbed. Considering the sad state of the Jets franchise, does anyone else find this strange?

It’s not like the Jets’ original list was devoid of people with actual GM records. Thomas Dimitroff and Jon Robinson even had fair-to-good resumes. Neither reportedly made it to the second round. I doubt we’ll ever learn why.

We know very little of Mougey’s aptitude when it comes to a GM’s tasks outside of the college Draft. He’s going to need help with building a football operations department, from technology to managing a salary cap. One of his first decisions will be what to do with 41-year old quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Hope he mastered his media training course because wherever he comes out on the matter will be scrutinized. His honeymoon period is going to be short.

The hiring of Mougey, who will be introduced to the New York media along with Glenn on Monday, screams for a senior FOOTBALL person (NOT business affairs VP Hymie Elhai) to be placed above Mougey to report to owner Woody Johnson. Elhai can possibly assist with things like the intricacies of the salary cap, but the organization needs someone with the gravitas to talk Johnson out of his boneheaded ideas borne from not thinking things through because that’s overrated. Only Johnson’s history tells us he’s too cheap to make that kind of investment.

So, the Jets appear to be back exactly where they were in 2021, with a first-time GM and a first-time HC reporting separately to ownership. Rinse, wash, repeat. Just like I predicted.

What could go wrong?