While most are piling on the New York Jets, one Bill Belichick connected NFL lifer believes relieving Mike Maccagnan was the right call.
The New York Jets made a monumental move at an odd time of year. By firing former general manager Mike Maccagnan, the Jets sent the NFL world into a frenzy.
On the “The GM Shuffle” podcast, Mike Lombardi, who worked for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots as recently as 2016, believes the Jets made the right move. This opinion contrasts with the prevailing narrative that this is another episode of the “Same Ol’ Jets.”
“I don’t think this is dysfunctional [for] the Jets, I’m going to be out alone on this one. The Jets had to get this right,” said Lombardi, who is still close to Bill Belichick, according to Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. “And the mistake the Jets made was not firing Maccagnan and Brian Heimerdinger when the season ended. I mean, these two guys were together for four years. They were the responsible builders of the Jets team.”
Despite the dogpile on the Jets currently taking place in the media, they made the right move by letting go of Maccagnan. He had four years to build a contender and he never could get the job done.
However, it was not smart to keep him through free agency and the draft in the first place. Both of those statements can be true.
The pressure now falls on head coach Adam Gase. Whatever may have transpired behind the scenes between him and Maccagnan is more or less irrelevant at this point.
The easiest way to make the world forget about this bizarre turn of events is by winning. Of course, the Jets are a long way away from their Week 1 matchup with the Buffalo Bills, but if the Jets can overachieve in 2019, the narrative of dysfunction ends.
