Eagles Executive Joe Douglas, Jets Agree to Reported 6-Year Contract as New GM

Kyle Newport @@KyleNewportFeatured ColumnistJune 8, 2019

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 30: Joe Douglas, Vice President of Player Personnel of the Philadelphia Eagles, looks on prior to the game against the New York Jets during the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 30, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The New York Jets have hired Philadelphia Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas as their general manager after firing Mike Maccagnan on May 15.

The team announced Douglas' hiring Friday. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the two sides agreed to a six-year deal.

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter
Jets just would not take “no” as an answer from Joe Douglas. He tried to turn down the Jets and each time he did, they came back at him harder and harder. Jets simply were not going to be denied in their efforts to land the former Eagles’ vice president of player personnel.

Head coach Adam Gase had been serving as the acting GM since Maccagnan's dismissal.

Douglas' name first came up shortly after the job became available. CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reported the Jets' interest:

Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora
Rumblings were rampant before the draft that Jets considering changing GMs and if so, Eagles exec Joe Douglas would be high on list of possible replacements. Strong ties to Adam Gase. We'll see.

As Schefter noted, Douglas was an obvious candidate because of his relationship with Gase:

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter
Eagles’ vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas is close to Jets’ HC Adam Gase and has been discussed in league circles for a while now as the potential GM for the NYJ.

Gase and Douglas previously worked together with the Chicago Bears in 2015. At that time, Douglas was the director of college scouting, while Gase was the offensive coordinator.

Douglas has no shortage of experience working in the NFL. He spent 16 years in the personnel department with the Baltimore Ravens and one season with the Bears.

Philadelphia hired him in May 2016.

While the Eagles missed the postseason in the first year of Douglas' tenure, they have since made back-to-back playoff appearances while winning their first Super Bowl championship in February 2018.

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Now, Douglas will be tasked with leading the Jets to the promised land.

After having been hired in January 2015, Maccagnan failed to build a winner during his four-year run in the Big Apple. The team went 24-40 during his tenure, failing to win more than five games in any of the last three seasons.

The Jets are in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought and have just one winning season during that span. They have won five games or fewer in four of the last five seasons.

Maccagnan remained in charge to start the offseason, leading the Jets through a coaching search, free agency and the draft. Ultimately, though, he was relieved of his duties, which The Athletic's Michael Lombardi reported was at least partly due to his poor relationship with Gase.

That should not be an issue with Douglas.