Need to be on same page

When this guy said this stuff about his old gig, it made me wonder if his comments could apply to a certain degree to the Jets.

Former Indianapolis Colts GM Ryan Grigson appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio this week and admitted he didn’t communicate that well in his old gig, and this contributed to his firing.

“What I really think that I wasn’t able to ever do in that time I was there was really get to be a human at times,” Grigson said. “I hunkered down and just was laser-focused. I probably should have pressed pause and took some time to breathe for a second and communicate better to let people in more. I was only like that with my inner circle.”

Grigson’s relationship with coach Chuck Pagano was so bad, owner Jim Irsay hired counselors to work with them.

It’s hard to be successful when the coach and GM don’t get along.

The Jets have a big decision coming up tomorrow night.

And while Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has the final say in the draft, he and Jets coach Todd Bowles better be on the same page with this big decision.

I have been dancing around the edges on this issue, but I’m telling you this relationship isn’t great right now.

An executive with another team told me they don’t have a strong relationship.
I was told this after the season. The executive who told me this was surprised I didn’t know.

Honestly, I don’t think anybody on the beat knows.

Have you seen this reported anywhere?

But now looking back, I can recall some things that were a little amiss.

For instance, late in the season, I’d usually see Jets VP Brian Heimerdinger talking to Bowles on the sideline at practice or before games, not Maccagnan.

At Nick Mangold’s retirement presser on Tuesday, Bowles and Maccagnan sat next to each other in the front row (they weren’t involved in the ceremony, which was hosted by Christopher Johnson). But while sitting next to each other, they didn’t seem to be talking to each other.

Look, GM’s and coaches don’t need to be best friends, but they need to be on the same page because if they aren’t, and there is bad blood, the GM can pick players, and then the coach can refuse to play them.

Did this happen with Christian Hackenberg last year? Maybe. It seemed like Bowles wasn’t going to play him come hell or high water. Did the Jets really need to see what Bryce Petty could do as Bowles said over and over? Absolutely not.

After I found out that Bowles and Maccagnan might have issues, it surprised me that the owner gave them both of them two-year extensions. Why would you extend the two key decision makers, who are essentially attached at the hip, if they don’t get along? Maybe the owner doesn’t know. He’s not there all the time, and maybe they act like everything is okay when he’s there.

But the bottom line is the Jets need to nail this third pick, and they also need to have a great season in 2018 (after missing the playoffs seven straight years), so these two better work well together moving forward.

April 25, 2018

Premium will return by 11:59 pm on Thursday.