Jets owner Woody Johnson and consultant Jed Hughes have began the search for a new general manager.

The Jets have already begun the search for their new general manager.

Reports are rapidly filtering in about a variety of candidates the Jets have requested and been granted interviews with. I have compiled a list below, with a brief summary of each candidate. The list will be updated as more information becomes available.

• San Francisco Director of Player Personnel 49ers Tom Gamble: Gamble has been working in the NFL for 24 years – including a stint as the Jets quality-control defensive assistant in 1995 and 1996 under Rich Kotite - and is a Bill Polian disciple. His work with the 49ers (he is mostly charged with the responsibility of acquiring free agent talent for the Niners) and elsewhere around the league, most notably with the Eagles, has been highly regarded and as a result, he is one of the most sought after candidates for the many GM openings. According to Albert Breer, Gamble is at the top of the Jets’ list.
• New York Giants Director of College Scouting Marc Ross: Ross has spent the last five years as the Giants director of college scouting and his well documented success has made him a highly sought after candidate amongst those teams looking to fill general manager vacancies. Ross will also interview with the Carolina Panthers and San Diego Chargers, according to sources. Ross was also heavily pursued last season, interviewing for openings in Indianapolis, Seattle and Chicago.
• Atlanta Falcons Director of Player Personnel David Caldwell: After four years as the Falcons’s director of college scouting, Caldwell was promoted to personnel director last off-season and has worked closely with Falcons GM Thomas Dimitrof to upgrade the Falcons roster. Given the Falcons success in the past few seasons, Caldwell is considered to be a highly sought after candidate. He is currently linked to both the Jags and Chargers, who are also looking for new GMs.
• Former Cleveland Browns General Manager Tom Heckert: The recently fired Heckert is also being heavily pursued by another team, per the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Heckert firing in Cleveland has been met with mixed reactions, though he is widely considered to be a far better talent evaluator than Mike Tannenbaum. For more on the Heckert firing, check out Aerys Sports’ Browns site. For a list of Heckert’s draft history, click here.
• Jets Assistant GM Scott Cohen: Most organizations interview someone in house, Cohen appears to be the token courtesy interview, which is why I am personally not concerning myself too much with te interview. Cohen is a Tannenbaum guy and hiring him would be so “same old Jets.”

According to an LA Daily News article in 2007, Jed Hughes, the man the Jets hired to consult on potential GM candidates, will receive $200,000 per search. Nice way to make a living.

The Jets coaching staff will likely not undergo any additional changes until a new GM is hired but when the time comes, changes at a offensive coordinator, quarterback’s coach and offensive line coach are high on my list. In fact, I would be fine with all of the offensive coaching staff being let go, save for Anthony Lynn, who I believe deserves to stay on.

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