I agree that he was not a good GM, but I really don't think Mac has been better. Leonard Williams and Adams were easy easy slam dunk picks. But Smith's a bust, Mauldin has done nothing, Lee was subpar, and I don't think Jenkins did anything of note last year. Really, the difference looks like one guy was given the green light to spend the Jets cap space, where as the other was incredibly frugal.
Maybe I'm too trusting of Mac and am the naive one, but we'll just have to agree to disagree, because I totally disagree with you. IMO the GM and HC have to work together, especially when they're equals or peers and not in a superior-subordinate position, and we know for a fact that Woody is capricious and sides with whoever gets his ear. It would have been a disaster if Mac and Bowles were feuding and not on the same page, as things were rumored to be with Idzik and Rex. IMO there's no way that Mac would have caved if he wasn't put into a position where he basically had no other choice. I agree that we'd be further along if we hadn't signed Fitz or another JAG, but imo that never would have happened. With Woody wanting the playoffs and Mac thinking that Hack needed a redshirt year, there was no way they were going to throw Petty to the wolves or trust in Geno. I also agree that Mac should be the one to ultimately decide and the owner should trust him, but then we know what a clueless owner we have, how the org chart is screwed up, and how Woody is prone to making the wrong choice. I do blame both Bowles and Woody, and Mac too. Bowles should have never opened his mouth. Mac should have been Bowles' superior. I'm sure that Mac said to Woody that Fitz would likely never repeat his success of the previous year and that he wanted way too much money. I'm equally sure that Woody was afraid of what the media and fans would say, feared he would lose revenue and be mocked, and so he told Mac to re-sign Fitz, that it would be him paying the bill not Mac. Thus, I can't really blame Mac too much for re-signing Bowles. Now if it ever comes out that Woody didn't care one way or the other, and Mac was just a wimp and caved, then I'll agree with you, but imo nothing about Mac's character and actions to date suggests that he's a wimp and would cave unless ordered to. IMO it's not about "appeasing" others but trying to come to a workable compromise with Bowles, or being ordered to re-sign Fitz. I don't believe that I am exaggerating. I think if Woody told Mac and re-sign Fitz and Mac refused, then Mac would have been fired. Similarly, if Woody told Mac and Bowles to work it out, and Mac flat out told Bowles that Fitz wouldn't be back, a rift would have developed between Mac and Bowles, and I think Woody probably would have fired both, or chosen one of them, and with the way Woody does things, Bowles could have easily been the one kept and Mac the one sent packing.
idzik was a great numbers guy. he just sucked at drafting. i wouldn't have mind keeping him to manage the cap and contract signings. he should have had no say in players though.
He's right that we haven't gone thru a full rebuild in his tenure. We haven't actually done it in my lifetime. This has been long overdue and I have the full confidence in Macc to get it done correctly. I am fully prepared for a bad 2017 season. In fact I am fully embracing it knowing that our future beyond 2017 looks bright.
Say 'new direction' over and over again until it sounds like... something else. There ya go. That's as much fun as you''l get from anything Jets related this year.
I think Woody finally realizes a rebuild is necessary. No more of this middle of the pack shit... Re-up with young talent and maybe we can be a beast of a team in 2-3 years.
