If you’re a New York sports fan who puts your support behind the Knicks and Jets, well, you’ve had better days.
One day after the Knicks missed out on winning the NBA draft lottery, the Jets reminded the sports world why they continue to be a laughingstock of the NFL.
New York made the borderline shocking announcement Tuesday that it fired general manager Mike Maccagnan as well as VP of player personnel Brian Heimerdinger. The Jets replaced the decision-making duo with head coach Adam Gase, naming the recently hired head man the interim GM.
It’s an eye-opening decision in large part because of the timing. Basically, there’s nothing left to do this offseason. The Jets just allowed Maccagnan to do everything from overseeing the hiring of Gase as head coach to signing Le’Veon Bell in free agency to scouting and drafting all the Jets’ new prospects taken in last month’s NFL draft.
Pretty crazy, obviously. And then there’s this: According to New York Daily News reporter Manish Mehta, Gase — the head coach and now acting GM, mind you — didn’t want the team to sign Bell to the four-year, $52.5 million contract inked in March.
In addition to Bell, the Jets also committed more than $100 million to linebacker CJ Mosley and wide receiver Jamison Crowder. No word on how Gase felt about those transactions.
The Jets might turn their attention to Eagles executive Joe Douglas, who worked with Gase in Chicago, in their search for a new general manager. New York, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, could also follow the Raiders’ lead and hire Daniel Jeremiah away from NFL Media. Oakland did something similar when it hired draft expert Mike Mayock away from NFL Media to be the team’s general manager.
