In a span of nearly 72 hours, the Jets have found their next head coach and general manager.
The Jets have named Broncos’ assistant general manager Darren Mougey as the team’s new general manager, according to NFL insider Josina Anderson.
The move comes after Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was hired as the new head coach on Wednesday afternoon.
The organization confirmed the reports from earlier in the day by announcing on social media Saturday night that Mougey was officially hired as GM.
“Darren is a trusted NFL executive who has experience working with an impressive collection of football leaders,” Jets Chairman Woody Johnson said in a statement.
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“He is a proven talent evaluator who impressed us with his vision for this team. His partnership with Coach Glenn will revitalize this organization. I am proud of the thorough search we undertook and that it led us to the two best individuals to lead our football team going forward.”
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Mougey started as a scouting intern with the Broncos in 2012 and over the next 12 years worked his way up through the organization, holding the AGM title in Denver since 2022. He was an area scout for the franchise when they won Super Bowl 50 nearly a decade ago.
“He’s (Mougey) got all the traits you want. He’s great with people [and a] great evaluator. I talked about the management and the organization and the detail. So he’s got everything you want,” Broncos GM George Paton said of Mougey on Broncos.com in the 2022 offseason.
While he doesn’t have ties to the organization like Glenn did, Mougey did also make it to the NFL briefly as a player. Despite being an undrafted wide receiver out of San Diego State in 2009, the 39-year-old Scottsdale native made the Atlanta Falcons practice squad and a year later joined the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.
Now that Glenn and Mougey are both officially on board, it marks the first time the Jets have had a first-time head coach and first-time general manager since 2015 with Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan. During that regime, Bowles and Maccagnan last four seasons and posted an underwhelming 24-40 record with no playoff appearances despite going 10-6 in their first season.
With the uncertainty of if Aaron Rodgers is back under center next season and a large chunk of the core — Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall and Jermaine Johnson all eligible for contract extensions this offseason — Mougey, Glenn and their staff will have their work cut out for them trying to bring the franchise back to relevance and the postseason for the first time in 15 years.
