Jets name Eagles executive Joe Douglas new general manager
Joe Douglas, the Eagles' vice president of player personnel, looks on prior to a preseason game against the Jets at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 30, 2018 in Philadelphia. Credit: Getty Images/Mitchell Leff
Adam Gase got his man.
The Jets have hired Eagles executive Joe Douglas to be their general manager, the team announced Friday night. He replaces Mike Maccagnan, whom the Jets fired on May 15 in a stunning move.
When Maccagnan was let go just weeks after the draft, Jets chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson appointed Gase the acting general manager and said the coach would “assist” in hiring the new GM.
Gase and Douglas worked together for one season (2015). Gase was the Bears’ offensive coordinator and Douglas was the director of college scouting.
Douglas was considered the front-runner for the job from the beginning. His deal is for six years, a source confirmed.
Douglas has spent the past three years as the Eagles’ director of player personnel. He was Eagles general manager Howie Roseman’s right-hand man and helped assemble the roster that won the Super Bowl in February 2018.
Douglas, who was viewed by many as a GM-in-waiting, was a part of another Super Bowl-winning team before his move to Philadelphia. He spent 16 years in the Ravens’ organization, including 13 as a scout. Douglas was instrumental in Baltimore’s decision to draft quarterback Joe Flacco in 2008, and Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP after the Ravens won the title in February 2013.
While with the Ravens, Douglas also had a hand in drafting or acquiring guards Ben Grubbs and Marshal Yanda, kicker Justin Tucker, linebacker C.J. Mosley (who signed with the Jets in March) and cornerback Lardarius Webb. Mosley, Tucker, Yanda and Grubbs made the Pro Bowl with the Ravens.
Gase has said it wasn’t a prerequisite for him to have a previous relationship with the GM, but it was widely believed that Gase, who had differences with Maccagnan, would want someone with whom he had worked and is comfortable.
The Jets also interviewed Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly, who worked with Gase in Denver and Chicago; Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer and Saints director of pro scouting Terry Fontenot. The club reportedly spoke to all four candidates again this week.
Gase has quickly garnered power in the organization. He was hired in January to be the head coach and now has helped to handpick the new general manager.
Although Gase and Douglas will report to Johnson, it’s important for the health of the team and the franchise for the coach and GM to be on the same page and get along well.
It will be interesting to see what Douglas does with the roster that Maccagnan assembled. But Douglas has a relationship with Gase, has a good track record and has been around some winning programs. That could bode well for the Jets.
Powell coming back. The Jets agreed to terms with free-agent running back Bilal Powell after he worked out Friday at the team’s facility.
Powell, a fourth-round pick of the Jets in 2011, suffered a season-ending neck injury in October that was thought to be career-threatening, but he recovered and is resuming his career. Powell has rushed for 3,446 yards and 15 touchdowns on 791 carries.
