The New York Jets have brought in a familiar face to help them with their general manager and head coaching search, but it’s a move that’s baffling some because it’s a former executive who the organization fired years ago.
Former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and his “The 33rd Team” were brought in by Gang Green to help them identify, vet and coordinate interviews and candidates for two high-level jobs, according to the New York Post.
The Jets are getting a head start compared to other teams that could be in the same position after New York let Joe Douglas go a few weeks after head coach Robert Saleh was dismissed from his duties.
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Mike Tannenbaum (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/File)
Jets owner Woody Johnson will reportedly oversee the search that The 33rd Team will have a hand in, as well as other Jets executives still in the front office.
Tannenbaum and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman will be the “primary representatives” of The 33rd Team, according to the Post, and the latter had a say in picking a GM and coach last season for the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders appear to be in a great spot after their hires before the 2024 campaign, bringing in Adams Peters as GM and Dan Quinn as their new head coach. Washington is currently in the playoff hunt in the NFC.
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The Post reports that The 33rd Team, while helping out with the search, will also provide studies on best hiring practices, data analysis and more from the past five years.
While Spielman helped an organization last season, Tannenbaum is someone who knows what Johnson is looking for personally. He was the Jets’ GM from 2006 to 2012 and oversaw the team’s roster during its last trip to the playoffs.
Tannenbaum was responsible for drafting Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and more Jets that led to those playoff seasons.
However, Tannenbaum’s 15-year tenure with the Jets ended after the team missed the playoffs for the second straight season in 2012. And some on social media couldn’t understand why New York would have someone they fired over a decade ago help them now.
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, center, then-coach Rex Ryan, left, and then-GM Mike Tannenbaum (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports/File)
There were even some thinking Tannenbaum would “just end up hiring himself,” one X user said.
“This is how dumb the New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is,” another X user posted. “He is resorting back to Mike Tannenbaum again to decide what’s best for their future as a franchise. He is below average at best with a 57-55 record as the Jets GM.”
With Tannenbaum returning to help the Jets, some have even suggested the team get the band back together by hiring Rex Ryan with Tannenbaum going back to GM. Ryan did mention on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” that he has “some unfinished business with that franchise.”
Since leaving the Jets, Tannenbaum served as the executive vice president of football operations for the Miami Dolphins before joining ESPN as an analyst.
Mike Tannenbaum (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/File)
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The Jets have hired three GMs since Tannenbaum’s departure: John Izdik, Mike Macaggnan and Douglas, all of whom were unable to deploy a roster to end the team’s playoff drought.
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