The Jets are turning to their past for help in plotting their future.
The franchise is hiring The 33rd Team, which was founded by former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, to help the organization identify, vet and coordinate candidates and interviews for their open GM and head coaching jobs, according to a source.
The Jets are beginning the process of finding replacements for Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh, who were both fired during this season.
Jets owner Woody Johnson will oversee the search but a group from The 33rd Team will assist him and the other Jets executives involved in the search.
Tannenbaum and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman will be the primary representatives of The 33rd Team. Spielman served as an advisor to the Commanders last year in their search for a GM and coach.
The 33rd Team will also provide the Jets with their studies of the best hiring practices, data analysis and trends and insights over the past five years.
Tannenbaum knows the Jets organization and Johnson as well as anybody. He served as the Jets general manager from 2006-12 and was the architect of the last Jets teams to make the playoffs.
He joined the Jets in 1997 under Bill Parcells, initially handling player contracts before ascending to the GM job.
As GM, Tannenbaum drafted Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis as well as franchise cornerstones Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and David Harris.
Tannenbaum later served as Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Dolphins and is now an EsPN analyst. He founded The 33rd Team, which is described as an NFL think tank, in 2019.
Tannenbaum gives Johnson someone who has actually been in the GM chair here to help him identify candidates that could thrive here. The Jets have had three general managers since Tannenbaum was fired in 2012 – John Idzik, Mike Maccagnan and Joe Douglas – and none have built a playoff roster.
Tannenbaum knows the New York market and he knows what Johnson’s ownership style and what he will be looking for in a new GM and coach.
Tannenbaum hired Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan as coaches during his time as Jets GM. Ryan, also an ESPN analyst, has been campaigning to return as head coach. His relationship with Tannenbaum will raise questions about whether he becomes a candidate for the job, but there has been no indication the Jets are looking for a reunion.
Spielman helped the Commanders hire Adam Peters as GM and Dan Quinn as head coach last season and Washington is now 7-5 and fighting for a playoff berth. He served as the Vikings’ GM from 2012-21 and his teams went to the playoffs five times, and previously was the Dolphins’ GM in 2004.
He also works as an analyst for CBS Sports.
The Jets are about to undergo a total reboot after firing Douglas and Saleh. Johnson made in-season firings for the first time in his 25 years of owning the Jets.
He fired Saleh on Oct. 8 after a Week 5 loss to the Vikings dropped the Jets to 2-3. Johnson hoped replacing Saleh with interim coach Jeff Ulbrich would turn the season around but it has not. The Jets are 1-5 since Saleh departed and stand at 3-8 with six games left in the season.
Johnson fired Douglas last Tuesday during the team’s bye week. He made the move now so the Jets could begin their search for the new GM and coach.
The first step was hiring The 33rd Team. The Jets are able to interview any candidates not currently employed by an NFL team. They must wait until the end of the season to interview candidates who are currently working for teams.