According to a press release, the New York Jets hired The 33rd Team “in a support role to help identify and vet candidates in addition to [coordinating] interviews. ”
Shortly after that news went public, an article posted by The 33rd Team titled “5 General Manager Candidates for New York Jets After Joe Douglas Firing” went viral on social media.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, and many more shared the article. It was perceived to be the same list of candidates that The 33rd Team was going to use for the Jets.
However, The 33rd Team deleted the article from the internet and posted this response, “This wasn’t an official list. Unfortunate timing, but something we had written before the partnership and search began. We’ve taken it down to avoid further confusion.”
The article in question was posted last week. I’ve confirmed that the article’s author wasn’t one of the big wigs at the company but rather Tyler Brooke, an NFL analyst for The 33rd Team.
He told me, “This was a list I made without any inside info.”
Some Additional Details About This Jets Hire
This will be the first whack at the pinata for The 33rd Team in terms of assisting an NFL search, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. The 33rd Team has assisted previously with several college coaching searches, Cimini added.
“With the addition of The 33rd Team, the Jets will have access to the group’s unique data analysis including trends and highlights in the hiring of football leadership. Former NFL front office executives Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman will lead the project for the NFL technology and media company,” the Jets announced in a press release.
Tannenbaum and Spielman both have previously served as general managers in the National Football League. They have 55 combined years of experience between them in executive roles at the NFL level.
Jets owner Woody Johnson has been criticized in the past for listening to too many non-football people to make big decisions. Give Johnson credit for hiring football people to help him in his search for a new head coach and general manager.
That is no guarantee of success but that is certainly a step in the right direction.
Jets fans know Tannenbaum very well. He was in the team’s front office from 1997 through 2012. In 2006 he was hired as the general manager and senior vice president of football operations.
During his tenure with the team, he achieved four winning seasons which was highlighted by back-to-back conference championship trips in 2009 and 2010.
Spielman helped the Washington Commanders last offseason in their general manager and head coaching search. The team ended up landing on Adam Peters and Dan Quinn.
“Our team connects you with top leadership candidates and uniquely designs a process to ensure the right candidate is hired. Drawing on our vast NFL experience and network within college sports, we identify the right talent for coaching, front-office, and administrative roles to support long-term success,” The 33rd Team says on their website.
Going Through Some Potential GM Names That Could Be Considered by the Jets
Before The 33rd Team deleted the Jets’ GM candidate article, Dylan Tereman of Jet Nation was able to collect all of the names listed.
An in-house option already working for the Jets: Jason Mandolesi, Phil Savage, Greg Nejmeh, and Jon Carr.
Outside candidates: Ed Dodds of the Indianapolis Colts, Mike Borgonzi of the Kansas City Chiefs, Jeff Ireland of the New Orleans Saints, and Ray Agnew of the Detroit Lions.
“One name with a lot of ties to the Jets GM search is NFL Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte. She previously worked for NYJ, and she worked w/ Tannenbaum in Miami. Aponte interviewed for Chargers GM job and has been among top candidates to be the first female NFL GM,” CBS NFL Insider Jonathan Jones revealed.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini also mentioned Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Brian Gaine as a potential option.
He was born in New York, went to high school in New Jersey, and played for the Jets briefly in 1996. After his short NFL playing career, Gaine transitioned to a scouting role which he held from 1999 to 2004 with the Jets.
Gaine would go on to serve in a variety of big-time executive roles with the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and most recently the Bills.
The highlight of his career is when he served as the Houston Texans general manager in 2018. He took over because the previous GM, Rick Smith, took a leave of absence for his wife who was dealing with breast cancer.
Gaine is from the area, played for the Jets, knows the division inside and out, was around Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, and has experience in the GM role.
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