One thing is clear in the search for the Jets' new head coach: Christopher Johnson is calling all the shots.
The Jets CEO will make the final decision on who to hire, as well as have the head coach report to him instead of GM Mike Maccagnan -- the same reporting structure that was under place with Todd Bowles.
"The buck stops with me and I have to do a better job," Johnson told reporters on Monday.
The Jets have finished in last place in the AFC East the past three seasons and while Johnson has only been in his current role for the last two seasons, Maccagnan has been the GM for all three of those years.
The GM will help lead Johnson in the search for the head coach, who will also seek advice from his brother, Woody, but Maccagnan remains in the unique position of being on the same level as the head coach with both reporting to Johnson.
Maccagnan does not view that as an issue.
"I definitely think it can work," Maccagnan said. "A lot of teams do it this way. I had a good relationship with Todd Bowles. I think we worked well together. Obviously, we didn't have the sucess on the field that we wanted but that had nothing to do with how it was structured or our relationship."
Neither Maccagnan nor Johnson have conducted a head coaching search in their current positions before, either, but the Jets GM was confident that they do not need any third-party help to lead the search.
"We feel very good going through the process and I spent a lot of time preparing for this," Maccagnan said. "I feel good about the people we have involved in the process and our resources and candidates we have. From our standpoint, we feel good to do it ourselves."
The Jets have requested to interview a number of assistants already, and Johnson has not ruled out pursuing college coaches, but with eight NFL head coaching positions open the market will be competitive.
Maccagnan, however, believes the Jets' vacancy is among the more attractive positions available.
"We have some good pieces in place," he said. "We are well-situated in terms of salary cap and roster flexibility so I think we can adjust to different coaches, different styles of scheme. ... we have a very good young quarterback in Sam Darnold going forward so I think it's going to be an attractive job. So we'll just see if we can find the right candidate for it and who that is."
Darnold's development is expected to be an important part of the hiring process, but Maccagnan said there is no priority between an offensive and defensive coach, but rather looking for the "right guy."
One of the criticisms about the current state of the Jets is that there is not enough talent around Darnold to succeed.
But the Jets head into the offseason with about $106 million in cap space, per overthecap.com, and Maccagnan said he expects to make improvements in free agency.
"I think we are going to be an active team in free agency," he said. "I think like everyitng else make smart investments in right players both from a value standpoint but I think we have a lot of ability to help this roster going forward and are excited about that."
