Even though Todd Bowles claims there was "never any tension" between him and anyone else on the Jets staff, New York Daily News Jets writer Manish Mehta isn't buying it.
Mehta doubled down on his Daily News report Friday, saying the head coach's denial of friction between him and GM Mike Maccagnan were "predictable" and he wouldn't expect the two to publicly say otherwise.
"I just think that this setup was inherently flawed," Mehta said. "Neither guy is beholden to each other and both guys have, for lack of a better word, the same amount of power. And because of that, that creates a lot of potential conflict and potential friction and tension.
"This structure is not conducive to a winning organization. You need the GM to have authority over the coach. Not specific to Maccagnan and Bowles, but just generally speaking, that is the winning structure and the winning formula the Jets have been missing."
The Jets have won only five games in each of their past two seasons and currently are 3-9 in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Many believe Bowles' final day in the building is just around the corner.
"I'm fairly certain that Todd Bowles understands what's on the horizon for him," Mehta said. "The Jets will be looking for a new head coach in a couple weeks. And even though my understanding is that it's not 100 percent definite that Mike Maccagnan will be retained, it appears likely that he will. And if he is, he'll be a part of the new head coach search."