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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Adam Gase would like the Jets to have a new general manager in place by the end of the next week, but he said the timing of that decision - and the identity of the new GM - remains up to Jets CEO Christopher Johnson.
Speaking briefly on the GM search before the Jets hit the field for their first practice of minicamp on Tuesday, Gase - currently the Jets interim GM as well as the head coach - didn't shed much light on the process, except to say "it would be nice" to wrap it up by the time the Jets' offseason program ends next week.
"I hope so, because it would be nice to kind of do that," Gase said. "But however long it takes to get the right guy, that's what we're going to do."
So far, the Jets have interviewed four candidates - Eagles VP of Player Personnel Joe Douglas, Bears Assistant Director of Player Personnel Champ Kelly, Saints Director of Pro Scouting Terry Fontenot and Seahawks Co-Director of Player Personnel Scott Fitterer. Gase said he has been part of all four interviews. Johnson and Jets Senior VP Hymie Elhai have been part of the interviews as well.
Asked if they might interview more candidates before making a decision, Gase said, "We'll kind of see moving forward, but that's hard for me to say right now."
Douglas, who worked with Gase in Chicago in 2015, is believed to be the favorite to win the job, in large part due to that close relationship. According to NFL sources, Douglas has been calling around the league for weeks to try and assemble a possible staff. And a team source said that if Douglas is the GM that Gase wants, he almost certainly will be offered the job.
"We went through some interviews this weekend and those guys did a great job," Gase said. "It was a great process we've gone through so far. We'll just keep huddling up and figuring out where we are with that until Christopher is ready to make a decision."