Rex Hogan

Woody Johnson Nixed Jets Effort To Acquire Jerry Jeudy, Impeded Joe Douglas On Bryce Huff, Haason Reddick

November 20th, 2024 at 10:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets are barreling toward their 14th straight season wrapping without a playoff berth, and their Robert Saleh-Joe Douglas regime’s unraveling points to ownership having a more difficult time filling its HC and GM positions come 2025.

Woody Johnson‘s meddling has become an issue for the Jets. The longtime owner admitted he went around Douglas to fire Saleh, something that led to the sixth-year GM losing power during his final weeks on the job. Other Jets power brokers led the way in the Davante Adams trade and Haason Reddick resolution talks. Earlier this year, however, Johnson stood as a roadblock to Douglas’ efforts to improve the team’s roster in other ways.

We heard in March the Jets joined the Browns and Patriots in pursuing Jerry Jeudy. The then-Broncos wide receiver, a trade-block staple alongside ex-teammate Courtland Sutton, went to Cleveland for fifth- and sixth-round picks. Denver may well have obtained more for the former first-round pick had Douglas gotten his way.

The Jets are believed to have offered a Day 2 pick and Allen Lazard — a 2023 Broncos target — for Jeudy, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt, only to see Johnson nix any potential deal. Jeudy going into his age-25 season intrigued the Jets, who aimed to avoid aging players in this year’s free agency (subscription required). That did not end up happening, as Tyron Smith and Mike Williams joined trade pickup Morgan Moses in joining the Jets in March.

It would have been interesting if the Broncos were willing to acquire Lazard, who was still owed a fully guaranteed base salary ($10MM) this year. Lazard underwhelmed after receiving $22MM guaranteed at signing in 2023. Denver did end up giving Josh Reynolds a two-year, $9MM deal; Lazard would have been costlier. Jeudy, who would have joined Garrett Wilson and potentially affected the Jets’ interest in Adams, has since signed a Browns extension.

Weeks later, Douglas signed off on acquiring Reddick despite warnings from his camp the Jets should not trade for the talented edge rusher unless they wanted to extend him. As it turns out, Douglas appeared more open to an extension than he initially let on. Reddick had expressed frustration with the Jets, believing they would revisit extension talks. Douglas may well have been onboard here, per The Athletic, which attributes the resistance to extending the then-29-year-old EDGE to Johnson. Even as Johnson helped bring Reddick into the fold in October, he certainly looks to have prevented his then-GM from extending him this offseason.

Before the Jets zeroed in on Reddick, they let Bryce Huff walk. Huff joined the Eagles on a three-year, $51MM deal, but if Douglas had his way, the team may have made a stronger effort to re-sign the team’s 2023 sack leader. Johnson is believed to have blocked his GM from making an extension offer to Huff, whom many teams pursued once the Jets let him hit the market. We heard in early February no offer had come. This came months after Johnson is believed to have restricted his GM from making a stronger effort to replace Aaron Rodgers once the QB suffered an Achilles tear.

Johnson also drove an effort to have safety Tony Adams benched in Week 11, with Russini and Rosenblatt reinforcing the notion the owner has placed too much stock in social media assessments of his team. Rumblings recently pointed to Johnson listening to too many non-football staffers in making decisions. This offseason also featured multiple high-ranking Jets football ops staffers dismissed, with assistant GM Rex Hogan being fired and then player personnel director Chad Alexander becoming the Chargers’ assistant GM. Johnson prevented Douglas from replacing either staffer, Russini and Rosenblatt add. (For what it’s worth, some in the organization believed Hogan had been responsible for many leaks; though, a flood of leaks have come out in the months since.) The owner’s actions led Douglas to tell some remaining Jets staffers Johnson “should just fire me now.”

Also believed to have pushed for the Jets to bench Rodgers after the team’s Week 4 loss to the Broncos — to the point one coach, per The Athletic, asked if the owner was serious — Johnson will have a lot to answer for after this wildly disappointing Jets season.

The Jets are expected to part with Rodgers, whom coaches feared would be embarrassed had Johnson gotten his way with the benching request. After all, Johnson played a key role in Rodgers agreeing to put off retirement and agree to a Jets trade last year. Sitting him for Tyrod Taylor so early in his Achilles comeback would have been one of the more shocking developments in recent NFL history.

This increased meddling will not make it easier for the owner to find quality GM and HC options in 2025, but even as the former ambassador to the United Kingdom is in the mix to reclaim that post under the second Donald Trump administration (a move that would again leave Christopher Johnson as acting owner), Woody Johnson is set to lead the Jets’ searches to replace Saleh and Douglas.

Jets Notes: Adams, OL, Hogan

February 24th, 2024 at 12:19pm CST by Ben Levine

Even before the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers, the team was busy adding many of the quarterback’s former teammates from Green Bay. With Rodgers expected to be fully healthy heading into the 2024 campaign, the organization is once again expected to pursue some of the veteran’s preferred targets.

However, one major name that may be unrealistic is Davante Adams. Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda.com writes that an Adams-to-Jets move isn’t “remotely possible.” For starters, the Raiders have no real desire to trade their star wideout. The organization values the player’s leadership, and new head coach Antonio Pierce expects the veteran to be a part of their desired “winning culture.”

Further, the Jets would never be willing to meet the asking price for the star wide receiver. If the Raiders would ever consider trading Adams, Pauline believes they’d request New York’s 2024 and 2025 first-round picks. It’s unlikely that the Raiders would accept an offer of a first-round pick and a third-round pick, even if that first was the No. 10 pick in the upcoming draft.

Adams’ stint with the Packers ended before Rodgers’ tenure in Green Bay, and he was sent to Las Vegas to play alongside his college QB, Derek Carr. The two showed their chemistry in 2022, with Adams finishing with 1,516 receiving yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns. However, the organization moved on from Carr last offseason, and inconsistency at the QB position led to Adams putting up some of his worst numbers in years. The wideout ultimately finished this past season with 103 catches for 1,144 and eight touchdowns, with each of those stats marking his lowest totals since his 12-game performance in 2019.

Because of those declining numbers and the organization’s uncertainty at quarterback, there were some rumblings that Rodgers could look to recruit Adams to New York. For the time being, it sounds like the receiver is staying put.

More notes out of New York…

The Jets have significant holes on their offensive line, and ESPN’s Rich Cimini estimates that the team will pursue two new offensive tackles and a guard. Considering that long shopping list, Cimini expects the team to pursue at least one OL via free agency. The organization could also look to fill one of those holes with their first-round pick, with Cimini pointing to Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu or Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga as options.
Following the Jets’ disappointing 2023 campaign, there were a handful of damning reports surrounding the organization’s inner turmoil. According to Pauline, some in the organization believe assistant general manager Rex Hogan was responsible for the leaks. These leaked reports ranged from Zach Wilson’s reluctance to be inserted back into the lineup to coach Robert Saleh‘s excuses for the team’s record. Hogan and the Jets mutually decided to part ways following the season.
Speaking of Wilson, we heard earlier this week that the former first-round pick has started to evaluate trade options. The Jets are all but guaranteed to move on from Wilson this offseason, and it sounds like the organization is giving the QB some say in his next destination.

Jets, Assistant GM Rex Hogan To Part Ways

January 31st, 2024 at 11:20am CST by Sam Robinson

As this Jets regime enters a do-or-die 2024, one of its top front office staffers is no longer part of the plan. The Jets are splitting with assistant GM Rex Hogan, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes, who describes this as a mutual separation.

Hogan has spent the past four years with the Jets, being hired to join Joe Douglas‘ staff back in 2019. Hogan has enjoyed two Jets stints over the past decade. Mike Maccagnan hired him upon taking over as GM in 2015, adding Hogan as his director of college scouting. After a subsequent run with the Colts, the Jets brought back the veteran exec under Douglas.

The team is still waiting for Douglas’ plan to come to fruition, with the Zach Wilson investment being a seminal moment during the regime’s tenure. Hogan is believed to have joined former OC Mike LaFleur in pushing hard for the former BYU prospect. Considering Wilson’s standing with the Jets after three woeful seasons — the most recent of which including a story in which he may or may not have expressed hesitancy about returning to action — it would not be surprising to see this as an issue for the Jets and the staffers who expressed the staunchest support for the bust-in-progress.

Some among the Jets viewed Wilson as a developmental arm at that point and unworthy of the No. 2 pick, and the prospect of giving Sam Darnold a fourth year and looking elsewhere in the 2021 first round was endorsed by parts of the organization. Ultimately, Wilson became the choice. That decision has defined Douglas’ tenure. Hogan remains respected around the league, however, Hughes adds.

The Jets are giving Douglas, Robert Saleh and OC Nathaniel Hackett another year. Woody Johnson has effectively signed off on a mulligan associated with the Aaron Rodgers injury. The Jets will undoubtedly clean house if the 2024 season goes poorly. As Douglas makes offseason plans, he will be in search of another top lieutenant.

AFC East Notes: Becton, Jets, Tua, Bills

February 9th, 2023 at 10:48am CST by Sam Robinson

The 2023 fifth-year option numbers dropped this week, and a near-$6MM gap exists between the first and fourth tiers of offensive line option numbers. That is unlikely to matter regarding the Jets‘ plans with Mekhi Becton. There is “virtually no chance” the Jets pick up Becton’s 2024 option, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes. Tier 4 in the 2023 option structure checks in at $12.57MM for offensive linemen, but with that number being fully guaranteed, the Jets were not exactly expected to consider it for Becton given his past two seasons.

With 2023 almost definitely set to be a contract year for the once-entrenched Jets tackle, Cimini adds Becton changed representation. He signed with the New York-based Sportstars agency. Becton, who had been represented by Klutch Sports, returning to form would represent quite the contract-year success story. He has played in one game since his rookie season ended. An avulsion fracture of the right kneecap felled Becton in 2022; a dislocated kneecap and MCL damage sidelined Becton for 16 games in 2021. The Louisville product showed considerable promise as a rookie, and he will attempt to revive his career in 2023. Becton is expected to be ready for OTAs in April.

The talented blocker’s weight has been a recurring issue during his Jets career. It plagued him during each of his first three years; most recently, the Jets were concerned with Becton’s weight during minicamp last year. Weighing 363 pounds at the 2020 Combine, Becton has weighed as much as 400 during his Jets tenure. After Becton said recently he had lost “a lot” of weight, Cimini confirms he is down to around 370 and plans to lose more this offseason.

An opportunity could await Becton, with George Fant five weeks from free agency and Duane Brown going into an age-38 season. But the Jets cannot count on the 2020 first-rounder at this point. Here is the latest from the AFC East:

Elijah Moore returned to the Jets after a brief hiatus and trade request. Some among the Jets believed Zach Wilson‘s struggles contributed to Moore’s departure request, Cimini adds, with Mike LaFleur‘s play-calling contributing as well. Moore and LaFleur engaged in a heated argument in October, and teams called the Jets on the second-year receiver. But Gang Green brought the second-round pick back into the fold. Moore’s production declined from his rookie year, dropping from 48.9 yards per game to 27.9 per contest. The Jets have made no secret of their pursuit of a quarterback upgrade this offseason.
LaFleur and assistant GM Rex Hogan pushed hardest for Wilson in 2021, per Cimini, who offers that some in the organization viewed the BYU arm as a developmental prospect unworthy of the No. 2 overall pick. Both Wilson and Trey Lance leapfrogged Justin Fields that offseason; each’s career is at a crossroads entering 2023. Wilson is not a lock to return to the Jets, though team brass has consistently stumped for the struggling passer. The Jets and LaFleur parted ways last month; he is now the Rams’ OC.
Tua Tagovailoa‘s fifth-year option would cost the Dolphins $23.17MM. That number is down more than $6MM from what Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert‘s 2024 options will cost, but the Dolphins have not indicated they are certain to pick it up. As Tagovailoa prepares for his fourth season, he has joined Becton in changing agents. Tua signed with Ryan Williams and Austin Lyman of Athletes First, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal writes. Tagovailoa recently cleared concussion protocol and showed remarkable improvement in 2022, but the former No. 5 overall pick will have health- and performance-related questions to answer in 2023.
The conditional pick the Bills sent the Colts for Nyheim Hines at the deadline will be a fifth-round choice, Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 tweets. Thanks to the Cody Ford trade, the Bills held two fifth-round picks prior to the Hines deal. It will be the Bills’ own fifth-rounder that will go to the Colts.

East Rumors: Flowers, Jets, Caserio

June 18th, 2019 at 6:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Given several chances at left tackle with the Giants, Ereck Flowers may be set to receive another NFC East starting opportunity. This one will come with the Redskins, who as of now plan to use the former top-10 pick as a starter. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan said, via Les Carpenter of the Washington Post, Flowers is pegged to start opposite Brandon Scherff at left guard. Flowers, who started 48 games at tackle with the Giants and seven with the Jaguars from 2015-18 before moving to guard in Washington, lined up back at tackle during parts of Redskins minicamp because of Trent Williams‘ absence. While the first-round bust did not fare well in the public portion of the workouts, Washington remains optimistic. The Redskins drafted fourth-round guard Wes Martin (Indiana) but appear to have him set to develop behind Scherff and Flowers.

“I see a lot of potential when we’ve moved tackles inside,” Callahan said, via Carpenter. “I think it gives us size, it gives us power. He’s long; he’s square. Obviously, he can play in the short area, so those are things we kind of identified during free agency that we liked, and we are trying to fit him into that mode. So it’s been a work in progress, we got a long ways to go yet, but he’s made a nice transition.”

Shifting first to the AFC, here is the latest from some of the NFL’s Eastern Time Zone-stationed franchises:

Colts VP of player personnel Rex Hogan becoming the Jets’ assistant GM may nix the franchise pairing two of its GM candidates in the front office. Bears exec Champ Kelly was linked to the Jets, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link) the recent New York GM interviewee was the favorite for the job Hogan received. With Chad Alexander coming aboard as the Jets’ player personnel director and Phil Savage having also accepted a Jets job, the Jets are running out of prominent titles. This could keep Kelly in Chicago.
Hogan was still under contract with the Colts, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, but Chris Ballard gave permission to allow for one of his top lieutenants to leave. Although Hogan and Ed Dodds were hired together, Cimini notes (on Twitter) Hogan served as the Colts’ No. 3 man in their decision-making hierarchy and will move to No. 2 with the Jets. This could put Hogan, who obviously helped the Colts in their rapid rebuild, on the GM radar in the near future.
Moving to a far more contentious process, Nick Caserio remains with the Patriots as their player personnel director. But with Caserio preparing to leave in 2020 — perhaps to become the Texans’ GM — Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders how much input Bill Belichick‘s right-hand man will have over the next several months. Caserio’s contract runs through the 2020 draft, per Florio, but will Belichick clue in a potentially departing exec on the inner workings of his plans? In a draft when the Patriots could be (again) targeting a Tom Brady successor, the uncertainty around Caserio may force the Pats to turn to other execs during that research process.

Jets Add Colts’ Rex Hogan To Front Office

June 18th, 2019 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

A day of Jets front office assembling continues. Joe Douglas has hired a third executive to join him in a prominent role, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reporting (on Twitter) the team will hire Colts staffer Rex Hogan as its assistant general manager.

This marks a return to the Big Apple for Hogan, who, interestingly, was part of the last round of hires when the Jets brought in a new GM. Mike Maccagnan hired Hogan as his director of college scouting in 2015, and he served in that role for two years. The Colts then brought Hogan in as a co-vice president of player personnel in 2017.

Each of the past three odd years bringing Hogan to a new GM’s staff, this one comes after Hogan helped Chris Ballard assemble arguably the NFL’s top up-and-coming roster. The Colts quickly went from the bottom of the NFL to the playoffs, and Hogan will be tasked with helping Douglas attempt to resurrect the Jets — they of zero playoff appearances since 2010.

Douglas on Tuesday has hired former Browns GM Phil Savage, longtime Ravens executive Chad Alexander and now Hogan. The latter, though, did not serve as a Ravens staffer alongside Douglas like Savage and Alexander did. Instead, Hogan spent more than a decade with the Bears before he joined Maccagnan’s original Jets staff.

Colts To Add Front Office Staff Members

May 9th, 2017 at 6:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Colts general manager Chris Ballard is initiating a revamp of the club’s front office by hiring former Jets senior director of college scouting Rex Hogan, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Hogan and former Seahawks senior personnel executive Ed Dodds — who is also expected to be hired soon — will be named co-vice presidents of player personnel, per Breer. Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday (Twitter link) reported earlier today that Indianapolis would likely add Hogan and Dodds.

Indianapolis had been expected to make several changes to its personnel department, and those alterations began last week when the club parted ways with scouting director T.J. McCreight and several other members of that department. Given his title in New York, Hogan would seem to be a natural fit to take over McCreight’s duties, and he offers familiarity with Ballard, as well, as the pair previously worked together in Chicago.

Dodds, meanwhile, has been linked to the Colts since March, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported at the time that Ballard was interested in bringing Dodds to Indianapolis. He’d been expected to land a promotion over his current role in Seattle, and he could help fill the void left by former vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III, who was let go earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Colts have also hired Brian Decker, a former Green Beret, as player personnel strategist, tweets Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com. As Wickersham detailed in a fascinating piece last summer, Decker previously worked for the Browns’ front office, creating character assessments under former Cleveland decision-makers Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, and Ray Farmer.

Front Office Rumors: Bills, 49ers, Colts

March 23rd, 2017 at 12:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com brought us news on the Redskins’ GM search. Further down in his column, he presented more front office news from around the NFL. Here’s a look at the highlights:

New Bills coach Sean McDermott could convince ownership to import front office guys with whom he has a relationship. JLC floats the name of Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory and notes that there are “already rumblings that the marriage of McDermott and Bills GM Doug Whaley” will not last.
The 49ers are also looking to add to the front office. This makes sense given that new GM John Lynch is a front office neophyte.
New Colts GM Chris Ballard may want to shake up the scouting core, but league sources tell JLC that he may have to wait a year since the evaluators that are already there have more time to go on their contracts. Still, Ballard badly wants to poach Seahawks executive Ed Dodds. If Indy can land him, he’ll probably get a promotion over his current title. Jets director of college scouting Rex Hogan is also a Ballard target, but JLC hears that he still has a good amount of time left on his contract and might be harder to pry away.
Bears exec Morocco Brown, who has history with Ballard, could be a possible candidate for the Colts and 49ers. JLC notes that Brown had a solid relationship with new SF coach Kyle Shanahan in D.C.

Coach/Exec Notes: Nolan, Gamble, 49ers, Jets

January 29th, 2015 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Executives around the NFL are looking forward to seeing Josh McDaniels‘ game plan for the Patriots this Sunday against the Seahawks, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, who says that a Pats win would boost McDaniels’ stock and make him one of the top head coaching candidates in the league a year from now. The New England offensive coordinator drew interest from teams seeking a head coach over the past month, though those clubs ultimately went in other directions.

Let’s check out a few more items from around the NFL relating to coaching staffs and front offices….

Former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan has joined the Chargers as the team’s linebackers coach, replacing Joe Barry, the team announced today in a press release. With Barry heading to Washington to take a defensive coordinator job, San Diego adds a coach in Nolan who has plenty of experience as a DC himself, including the last three seasons in Atlanta. If there was any lingering doubt that Dan Quinn would bring in his own coordinator when he takes over the Falcons‘ job, that doubt was dispelled with the Chargers’ announcement.
Mere weeks after he was let go by the Eagles, personnel executive Tom Gamble is returning to San Francisco. The 49ers announced today that their former director of player personnel is rejoining the organization as a senior personnel executive. The announcement of Gamble’s hiring comes on the same day the Eagles confirmed that they were promoting Ed Marynowitz to Gamble’s old position in Philadelphia.
The Jets made a pair of announcements today, naming ex-Bears scout Rex Hogan as their director of college scouting and formally hiring three more position coaches – Jimmie Johnson (TEs coach), Daylon McCutcheon (DBs assistant), and Ryan Slowik (DL assistant) – to Todd Bowles‘ staff.

Coach/Front Office Notes: Texans, Broncos, Jets

January 24th, 2015 at 7:09pm CST by Ben Levine

It’s already been a busy day in the coaching rumor mill. The Jets hired Pepper Johnson as their defensive line coach, the Falcons were granted permission to interview Raheem Morris, and the Bears added former Broncos coach Bo Hardegree. Let’s check out a couple more coaching and front office notes, including more moves by the Jets:

The Texans have hired Paul Pasqualoni as their defensive line coach, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. The former Dolphins and Cowboys defensive coordinator spent 2014 as the Bears d-line coach.
The man that Pasqualoni will be replacing, Bill Kollar, was recently hired as the Broncos new defensive line coach. One of his former players, J.J. Watt, supports his former coach’s new gig. “He’s always going to shoot you straight,” Watt told Mike Klis of The Denver Post. “He’s going to coach you hard and tell you like it is. Kubiak, Kollar, everybody, yeah, you guys (in Denver) have got a great staff.”
The Raiders will interview Bills wide receivers coach Rob Moore on Sunday, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan. If everything goes well, the 46-year-old will get the job, sources tell Caplan.
The Jets will hire former Bears scout Rex Hogan as their college scouting director, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. It was thought that recently hired Brian Heimerdinger would take over the role, but Breer notes that the former Rams executive will instead be taking over a “prominent front office role.”