I like that you see my point and agree that Woody should wait until after the season. Since you still have that first paragraph in your post, I have to assume that you still believe that Bowles and Mac deserve some security so they won't feel like lame ducks. I disagree with that. They should have to earn that security by doing their job well. Unless he clearly demonstrates otherwise, Bowles still has the same big flaws that he had his rookie season. IMO those flaws aren't deserving of security or of even keeping his job. If those things don't change dramatically/improve, he should be fired because the whole rebuild could be undermined by his incompetence. Mac OTOH has done enough good with his moves, many of which were done to keep in line with Woody's desires for the team to remain competitive, to deserve more time. I think that he is the one who gained Woody's trust and convinced him that the Jets needed to undergo a true rebuild in the right way. The only way I see Mac getting fired is if Hack is a flat out embarrassment this season, Lee and the rest of the 2016 draft class shows little or no improvement, and Maye (and/or Adams) along with a couple of the other higher picks prove to be busts this year. While I think that Mac has done enough to deserve and extension, I think it better to wait until after the season just in case. Then if the players he has drafted are showing steady improvement or this year's picks are playing at a high level already, then he deserves longer than a 1-year extension. IMO if the first 3 picks this year immediately prove to be solid starters, Jenkins proves to be a solid starter and Lee shows either steady improvement or a quantum leap forward, then Mac should be given a 3-5 year extension. Then if Bowles is fired, the org chart should be changed, Mac be given complete control over the football operation, and should be given the freedom to hire the new HC.
This is the year to evaluate both Bowles and Mac. Any extensions should be given out after this season. They have 1 year left after this season ends right? So I do think barring any major set-backs they should both get a 1 year extension as they are tied to one another. Bowles, surely has his flaws, but he has also done some decent things such as player development with the young players Mac brought in. I definitely want to see him become a more well rounded head coach on the field in terms of managing the game and planning. Mac has done an average job. Leonard Williams and Jamal Adams are as easy as picks as you can get. I didn't like how he folded with Fitzpatrick, and some of the picks, I am not sure I am fully on board, especially the 2nd round history. Devin Smith, Hackenberg and Maye. I really don't understand the Maye pick, but I am willing to give him a shot. Both at the end of the day need to continue to get better. I see good in both. Mac will never get complete control of the football operation IMO, more than likely if the organization chart is restructured, someone will be brought in ala a John Elway role.
There in lies the bottom line. Drafting well is the great cure all. Whether you are in cap heaven or hell, you can truly achieve sustainable success by drafting well. Mac is so far averaging 1 day 1 starter per draft and no FQB to date. That's not going to cut it regardless of how much cap space we are able to clear up or draft picks we accumulate.
When your GM is knocking it out the park, you don't have to qualify it with "probably" or "possibly".
Note I'm not a Mac hater; I think he's been better than some of our past GMs but that's not a high bar. I'll also add that he's been better at his job than Bowles has; again very low bar. That said, I'm curious to know of all the good he's done IYO that deserves an extension and full control of football operations?
I said that this should be the year to evaluate both and that any extensions should come after the season. Why should Bowles get an automatic one-year extension? He's done nothing to show that he deserves an extension, and in fact, has shown to date that he doesn't. Besides, a 1-year extension is a slap in the face. That doesn't change lame duck status. IMO Bowles needs to feel the pressure. Maybe that will wake him up and make him see that he needs to make some big changes in his philosophy, the way he handles the players, his own preparation for games, the way he goes about getting the team prepared, and the D. I don't know that Bowles has done any player development. Perhaps some of his position coaches or coordinators have, but if anything, Bowles has held back the development of players by favoring older vets and continuing to play them when they're playing horribly, and even obviously dogging it on the field, and keeping younger players with potential sitting on the bench. I also disagree that Mac has done an average job. I think he has done a very good job in FA, and done well above average in the draft. Don't forget that his first year here, he was working with Tanny's Scouting Dept., not his own, and he had to spend a huge amount of money in FA. Woody wanted the team to return to the playoffs and I'm sure that Mac felt a lot of pressure to try to immediately turn things around. Woody campaigned for Revis to come back, and all but tampered to make it happen. Again, I don't think that Mac deserves the criticism that he gets for re-signing Revis. No one could have foreseen that Revis' play would fall off a cliff. We all knew how greedy Revis was, and Woody did too, yet he wanted him back and was willing to pay the money. If anything, that's pretty much all on Woody. I think that under the circumstances, he did the best he could considering the who the Jets' owner is, the players who were available and the Jets situation and needs. I don't pretend to understand or agree with all of his moves either in FA or the draft, but he is much more knowledgeable than me, has much more information about the players and situations than I, you, or any other fan could ever possibly have. I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt until he clearly proves that he's not the caliber of GM that we want/need. It's easy for us to sit back and criticize and pretend that we know more or what we think would be better, but there's no evidence whatsoever that we wouldn't make the same decisions that he did if we had the information he had, and the pressure that he had. There's an attitude in society today that people think they know as much, if not more, than experts or leaders in a field. I think that we're all affected to some extent by that attitude, and perhaps Jets fans more than most, since we've seen so much incompetence over the decades. We've become jaded and cynical and don't trust any Jets HC, GM or owner, and for good reason. After all, fool me once... That said, I'm trying to fight that cynicism and negativity. I gave in to it on day 3 of the draft for a short period of time, but after further reflection and a good night's sleep, I realized that other posters were probably right that the trade downs were a good move. Again, neither I nor any fan here had the information that Mac did about player's heart, attitude, off-field behavior, scheme fit, etc. A number of posters wanted certain players in the draft, but after they were passed on by the Jets and other teams took them, information came out about that player, that caused those posters to say that they didn't know that about the player and were glad the Jets didn't take them. The ones who didn't change their minds are those who don't care about a player's character, and wanted that player for his talent, regardless of how bad his character is. In terms of his "caving" with Fitz, that's one perspective, but not a particularly valid one imo. With the way the org chart was set up by Woody, with Bowles and Mac being equals, with Bowles clearly wanting Fitz back and proclaiming him the starter, with Fitz having had a career season, with Marshall and the Jets' offense having a record setting season, with players lobbying for his return, with the way QB salaries soared, and with a doofus for an owner that not only had made it clear that he expected the team to return to the playoffs but probably thought Fitz was the answer after the 2015 season, I know of no young GM who would have gone against all of that. If he had refused to sign Fitz, and had to sign some other JAG QB and that QB and the Jets' offense flopped, Mac would have taken the blame and been fired. There's no doubt that's what would have happened. Bowles would probably have escaped any blame, even though his mismanagement of the team, lack of holding players accountable, and own flaws would have been largely responsible for the team's flop in 2016. I totally disagree that they are tied together. They were hired at the same time, but Mac didn't make the hire. Woody had pretty much already decided that Bowles was going to be the Jets' HC, and Mac was just given the opportunity to say whether or not he thought he could work with Bowles and would be a good choice. That's very different from Mac initiating a search and bringing in his own candidates.
I already said next year is the year to evaluate BOTH in my previous post. I agreed with you in terms of waiting until next season. That's how I am going with this. Mac is responsible for contracts. He absolutely caved with Fitzpatrick, he is the one that writes the contract and offers it to the players. That has nothing to do with Bowles or whomever else, Mac should have stood his ground if he didn't want him to come back. Mac has done an average job, the best players he picked were obvious choices [Williams and Adams]. There are players I like that Mac picked, but there are some head scratchers so we shall see. We need to see how the other players do going forward. Mac more than likely will never bring in his candidate because that's not how the organization is structured. People wanted this for years now.
IMO you're wrong. Bowles publicly proclaiming that Fitz was his starter absolutely had everything to do with the contract that Fitz got. If you think not, then you're incredibly naive. Again, I don't think that you or anyone else would have refused to sign Fitz last year after the deck was stacked the way it was. One would have had to have ironclad job security that comes from years of success, and know that if one was fired, that there would be another team ready and willing to hire him, and that just doesn't happen in the NFL.
At the end of the day, who is responsible for handing out contracts and making those decisions? Mac. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what Bowles says, that power is in Mac's hands and his hands only. If I was Mac, I would've told everyone in that building that we aren't resigning Fitzpatrick and moving on. I NEVER wanted to resign Fitzpatrick, you can look that up.
This is the first time in 17 years Woody appears to have ANY plan..let alone one w. a long term view & conviction. In fact...this statement was the most definitive direct thing Woody has ever said on the record that I can remember. Talk is cheap...especially from the Jets...but I do find this mildly encouraging...While a big picture plan has been far from Woody/Jets strong suit...they do tend to get the whole organization on board w. whatever priority they emphasize at the given timeframe. Woody has never been shy about opening the checkbook & utilizing all resources for a competitive advantage. He just seems to be misguided & misses the big picture. If he gets on board w. a true youth movement centered around scouting & player development...that could be a major turning point for this franchise. He wants marquee names for the backpages? Stop waiting to spend prime capital on other team's scraps & get top players via the draft & have the marquee names for the fraction of the price.
so it took 17 years for him to learn what everyone already knew lol either way i think a youth movement is a good direction to this team
You can't be serious. The Jets have a situation where Mac is not over Bowles, but rather they're peers. If Bowles said that he wanted Fitz back and that he would be starter following a record-setting year for the Jets' offense, and Mac refused, he would have been the bad guy and more than likely would have been fired at that time. It's easy for you to say that safely on the internet, not being in Mac's shoes with a family support. If you would have done what you said, more than likely you'd not only be out of a job, but a career. I believe you that you didn't want to re-sign Mac. I didn't either, AS A FAN. We're in a very different position from Mac, however. It's easy for us to take a stance on something, as it won't cost us anything if we're wrong or go against a boss' wishes/orders. For Mac, it could have cost him his career. IMO he took the wiser course. Better to lose a battle, keep one's job, and hope to win the war later. It looks like that's what happened. He did what Bowles and probably Woody wanted, showed them that they were wrong and that he was right, and now he appears to have won Woody's trust and respect, he still has his job, and the opportunity to try to do things the right way.
I am absolutely serious. That is Mac's responsibility. Like I said before, Mac has the final say on who is on the roster and who is not. Bowles makes the decision on who starts on the roster. That's where it starts and ends, IMO there is nothing more to discuss in terms of who is responsible for what. Bowles can run his mouth and say whatever he wants to say to the press; but Mac is the one who ultimately decides, unless Woody Johnson says something [which we cannot confirm that Woody did indeed interfere]. BTW, Chan Gailey knew it was a bad idea. He knew that having 4 QBs on the roster was detrimental. Fools gold to think Fitz would repeat what he did his first year with the Jets. Believe me if it were me, I would absolutely not resign Fitzpatrick, and I would have plenty of reasons to argue that with anyone that says differently. That's a decision that ultimately lies with me the GM who has the final say on the roster. I would live and die with that decision because it's my job. The money spent on Fitz was unbelievable. Jets would actually be farther along in the rebuild process. It definitely sounds like you are trying to blame Bowles for making Mac give Fitz that contract. I hope Mac has bigger balls to say no for a change and not try and appease everyone in that building. No is getting fired over not signing Fitzpatrick, c'mon now. You are over exaggerating.
I'm not a Bowles fan , but scapegoating him for all of Mac's moves is just so silly. The Jets have gotten nothing from their 2015 draft aside from Leonard Williams. Devin Smith? Mauldin? They all look like busts and that has most definitely played a role in the Jets failures. He then compounded that taking a massive project in round 2 . The Jets best WR and guard weren't even by products of this regime, but of the Idzik era. I find it interesting that Mac gets a pass for his draft, when Idzik was continually slammed for his. I suppose it's because he's better with the media than Idzik, but it's just a blatant double standard.
Idzik is straight trash. Let's not compare the two. I believe Mac drafts a QB with Teddy and Carr on the board instead of Pryor. Idzik, great with money, awful with the draft. I do thank him for Enunwa and Winters [I guess]
From Woody's perspective, he's been surrounded by his men who've been telling him "We're THIS CLOSE". So of course Woody doesn't tear down the team and start over. Tanny: "We're THIS CLOSE!!!". Rex: "We've THIS CLOSE!!!". MacCagnan: We're THIS CLOSE!!!" What's changed I don't know. Maybe it was Woody who told Macc "We're THIS CLOSE!!!, bring Revis back!!!". And maybe now we have Macc talking some sense into Woody's small brain? I hope it's this. I hope Macc really IS a very good GM but was side tracked (initially) but the Owner demanding he "Go for it". We've needed a complete 'rebuild' staring in Rex's last 2 years (Idzik), and Idzik (god bless him) actually was 'trying'. He cut a ton of dead wood and rounded up 12 draft picks, so Idzik actually WAS trying for a rebuild, but got fired for it (and for having no clue how to draft talent). bye.
