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They are coming down the homestretch . . .
The Jets interviewed Philadelphia Eagles VP Joe Douglas on Sunday for their GM job.
He is considered the favorite for the job.
“I’m 99 percent sure Douglas is going to be the Jets’ GM,” somebody who works for the league told Jets Confidential.
You could make a strong argument that Douglas to the Jets was fait accompli from the second Maccagnan was fired on May 15. Or maybe even before.
It’s possible that part of Gase’s coup plan that ousted Maccagnan had Douglas as the replacement. Remember this tweet on May 16:
“ESPN Richmond sources indicate Eagles VP of Player Personnel & former Richmond Spider Joe Douglas is close to completing a deal to become the next GM of the Jets. Douglas has a close relationship with Jets’ HC Adam Gase.”
Douglas is from Richmond and played football at the University of Richmond. His friends at the station might have jumped the gun letting that out, especially since the Jets had not fulfilled the Rooney Rule.
Over the last couple of weeks they have met with Champ Kelly (Chicago Bears) and Terry Fontenot (New Orleans Saints), so the Rooney Rule is now fulfilled, and it’s possible that one or both of these gentlemen could end up working for Douglas with the Jets, if he gets the job.
While on the topic of who might work under Douglas if he does take the job.
Right after Maccagan was fired, and Douglas’ name surfaced as a strong candidate to replace him, ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced: “Daniel Jeremiah is under serious consideration for a prominent front-office position with the NY Jets, per sources.”
Jeremiah is a former NFL scout who’s now a draft analyst with the NFL Network. He worked as a scout in Baltimore with Douglas.
But over the weekend I heard this is now a long shot to happen.
Why? Money.
According to a league source, Jeremiah wants $2 million-a-year to work for the Jets.
This is probably too expensive for a second in command position.
Jeremiah has a great life and career out in California. Aside from being a draft guru for NFL Network, he is the radio analyst for the Los Angeles Chargers, and does a popular weekly podcast from his home studio for NFL.com.
Also, his kids are in school out there, and his father is popular evangelist in that area. Jeremiah is entrenched in the San Diego area with a great career and strong family ties in the area.
So he probably figured he’d ask for the moon because he had nothing to lose.
The Jets aren’t going to pay Douglas’ first lieutenant $2 million-a-year.
But don’t sweat it Jets fans, another prominent name has emerged in league circles as a top candidate for that job – Phil Savage.
The former Cleveland Browns GM, who ran the Senior Bowl from 2012-18, is under consideration for the job Jeremiah likely would have taken. And like Jeremiah, Savage worked with Douglas in Baltimore.
If Douglas lands the Jets job, and hires Savage, he would have a right-hand man whose been an NFL GM before, which will be very helpful to him as he gets comfortable in the job.
June 3, 2019
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