Jets GM Rumors: Eagles' Joe Douglas to Interview Sunday, Favorite to Land Job

Philadelphia Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas is reportedly the favorite to replace Mike Maccagnan as the New York Jets' general manager. 

Albert Breer of The MMQB reported Douglas will formally interview for the vacant position Sunday. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News added the Eagles executive "appears in line to take over" unless his meeting with Jets chairman Christopher Johnson goes poorly.

Johnson announced the firing of Maccagnan on May 15, saying he "came to the decision to make a change after much thought and a careful assessment of what would be in the best long-term interests of the New York Jets." New head coach Adam Gase is filling the role on an interim basis during the search.

The decision came as a surprise only because of the timing. New York allowed Maccagnan, who took over as the team's GM in January 2015, to handle all of the key offseason decisions, including the draft and signing star running back Le'Veon Bell, before making the switch.

Typically those types of front-office shakeups occur immediately after a season to give the new front office a clean slate to begin building the team in its own vision.

Meanwhile, Michael Lombardi of The Athletic said Wednesday on his GM Shuffle podcast with Adnan Virk (via Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation) that Douglas was ready to exit his current role:

"Well, Joe Douglas wants to leave Philly. I don't think Joe Douglas is really that comfortable in Philadelphia in this current setup. The Eagles are going really extensively—they hired [former Cleveland Browns executive] Andrew Berry. They're going to go really with the analytics. Now, I think they're going to do both. I think they're going to have an analytic department and have an old-school personnel department and see if they can bridge the two gaps. I don't think Joe Douglas is sitting there, singing kumbaya every single day in the office. Everybody tells me [the Jets GM opening] is his job."

Philly hired Douglas in May 2016 and his profile on the Eagles' official website credits him with playing "an integral role in helping construct the team's Super Bowl LII-winning roster"

The University of Richmond product previously spent the 2015 season as director of college scouting for the Chicago Bears after 16 years in the Baltimore Ravens’ personnel department.

If hired by the Jets, he'd inherit a roster with star power in the likes of Bell, quarterback Sam Darnold, safety Jamal Adams and defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, the third overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft, but there's still ample holes to fill elsewhere on the roster before the team reaches a championship level.