Jets Extend Todd Bowles, Mike Maccagnan

The Jets are going forward with their current management structure. The team announced extensions for both Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan, and Brian Costello of the New York Post reports (on Twitter) these are two-year agreements.

Both of these re-ups run through 2020, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Both were headed into the final years of their initial Jets contracts.

“We are very happy to have extended both Mike and Todd,” Jets CEO Christopher Johnson said. “During their time here, they have worked together to help the organization build a foundation on which to grow. I believe we are headed in the right direction. This provides us continuity and stability as we continue to move this team towards sustained success. We still have a lot of work to do and I am excited to work closely with both of them as we move forward.”

Bowles had been a fringe hot-seat occupant, but as the season went along, his overachieving team showed promise unexpected of a roster that was purged of many veterans this past offseason.

Although the Jets may finish 5-11 for the second straight season, they were expected to vie for the 2018 No. 1 overall pick. Bowles looks to have shown ownership he deserves more time to attempt to thrust Gang Green back to contention. This season had Jets sources “raving” about Bowles’ performance as recently as a month ago, but no extension appeared imminent at that point.

Since being hired together in 2015, Maccagnan and Bowles have steered the Jets to a 20-27 record. Maccagnan cut numerous vets this offseason, severing ties with many of the franchise’s higher-profile talents brought in prior to his arrival, but observed Bowles lead the team to wins over the playoff-bound Jaguars and Chiefs while having a team that was perhaps favored to land the ’18 No. 1 selection to an over-.500 mark in October.

The Jets narrowly missed the 2015 playoffs and won 10 games before regressing to 5-11 last season. Barring an upset as a two-touchdown-plus underdog Sunday in New England, the Jets are going to repeat that five-win showing. But some recent investments — like Josh McCown, Jamal Adams, Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse and Leonard Williams — have paid dividends for this year’s iteration. And Gang Green will have more cap space than it’s held in years this coming offseason. The Jets are projected to possess more than $80MM in space. That figure expected to approach $100MM only by jettisoning Muhammad Wilkerson, about whom Maccagnan clearly has buyer’s remorse, and will be able to augment their roster in a number of ways.

And Christopher Johnson, making a big decision after Woody Johnson ceded day-to-day control of the team after becoming U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, is confident in the current power structure’s ability to manage this cap space and further place the Jets in position to contend in the near future.