The Jets have fired GM Mike Maccagnan, according to a team announcement. New head coach Adam Gase will take over as the team’s interim GM. 
“This morning, I informed Mike that he was being relieved of his duties as General Manager of the team, effective immediately,” Jets CEO Christopher Johnson said in a statement. “Mike helped to execute the strategic vision of the organization during the last four seasons and especially the past few months. However, I came to the decision to make a change after much thought and a careful assessment of what would be in the best long-term interests of the New York Jets. I will start a search for our new General Manager immediately. In the interim, Coach Gase will be the acting General Manager. I would like to thank Mike for his time and efforts during his tenure, and I wish only the best for him and his wife Betty.”
Maccagnan has long been rumored to be on the hot seat in New York, but few saw the longtime exec getting the hook after the initial waves of free agency and the draft. The GM had two years to go on his deal and the assumption was that Maccagnan would be given at least one more year to turn things around.
Still, Maccagnan’s misses have been glaring. While he has hit on early draft picks such as defensive tackle Leonard Williams and safety Jamal Adams, he’s missed badly in the lower reaches of the draft, which is especially disappointing given his previous track record as a talent evaluator.
The Jets have also whiffed in free agency under Maccagnan’s watch, including the 2018 offseason in which the club failed to land quarterback Kirk Cousins and settled for a monster deal with cornerback Trumaine Johnson. The former Rams standout struggled all season and his five-year, $72.5MM is already looking like a misfire.
Despite all of that, Maccagnan was entrusted to allocate $100MM+ in cap room this offseason and use the team’s No. 3 overall pick in April. The Jets used a big chunk of their cap space to sign Le’Veon Bell, giving the franchise an elite running back in his prime for the first time since Curtis Martin. Meanwhile, Maccagnan used the No. 3 overall pick to select Quinnen Williams, who may prove to be the best overall talent in the 2019 class.
Vice President of Player Personnel Brian Heimerdinger will follow Maccagnan out the door, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
So much for the ‘we’re getting along just fine’ status.
I think that phrase is a code indicating an imminent train wreck. Heard the same think out in Raider land just before McKenzie and Gruden called it quits.
So in other words Gase backstabs the guy that hired him 6 months ago. Says a lot about Gase’s character or lack of it.
Also explains why the Jets are always spinning in circles
Gase isn’t CEO
Chris Johnson hired Gase, not McCags
What happened to my comment?
Let’s try that again. So Gase just back stabbed the guy who hired him 6 months ago. Says a lot about Gases’s character or lack of it. No wonder Jets are constantly going in circles!!!!
If they were going to do it, it should’ve been at the same time as Bowles or after the coming season. What raises eyebrows is that Mike Maccagnan never was really involved in the hiring of his team’s coach. Bowles was hired at the same time he was and he didn’t have much of a say in hiring Gase.
Only the Jets could fire their general manager after the draft and after free agency but before anything has happened in the regular season
And the mess that is the New York Jets just goes on and on… What’s wrong with the owner?
He died.
I’m not even a Jets fan, but this should have happened a long time ago and before he hired a head coach. But if you’ve already let him lead the draft and free agency, why fire him right now? None of this makes any sense.
And just like that, the Giants are the more stable organization once again
Yes. They win rings. The Jets do not.
The only rings the Giants will see with Gettleman will be the ones inside his bathtub.
And suffering
What a stupid move for my favorite team. It validates the assumption that they have no idea what they are doing. If Johnson listens to Gase and makes him the permanent GM, the wrath of Jets Nation will be felt at his doorstep
When all you kids grow up you will understand that this is a great move!
It might turn out to be a great move, but you have to admit that the timing of it is really, really strange.
The timing is ideal!
The move isn’t bad. But the timing is just a joke.
Jets are going to jets
J-E-T-S-W-T-F
lol I knew he would go at some point
What in the name of broken sh*t??? Haha
Looking forward to hearing Charlie Weiss mumble his way through this topic tomorrow morning.
strategic vision? It doesn’t take much vision to play like the Jets have for the last four, long years, IMHO.
Knew this was happening with news less than a week ago that they weren’t getting along . I said one would be gone soon.
Some interesting points of contention here.
1) “he’s missed badly in the lower reaches of the draft”…uh, most GMs do.
2) “the club failed to land quarterback Kirk Cousins”…considering how messed up the Vikings cap situation became, how is this bad?
Maccagnan really whiffed in the later rounds. Most GMs find a guy by accident or blind luck. And the Jets could find their way to cap heck with the Bell, Johnson, et al signings.