Jets Fire GM Tannenbaum, Rex Safe For Now

Well, hopefully you’ve had time to get your priorities in order since the New York Jets (6-10) didn’t finish the season where they would have hoped and will be watching post-season football from home. Like every other other team in the league, there are casualties at the end of a disappointing season and the big name fired from the team was General Manager Mike Tannenbaum, essentially the number one decision-maker besides owner Woody Johnson. I agree with the decision to get rid of Tannenbaum and keep Rex Ryan on what will most likely be a one season chance to get it together. Tannenbaum is primarily responsible for the mess this season as he was behind the Tim Tebow trade and failed to surround Mark Sanchez with enough weapons to have a chance to succeed. The new general manager will have to deal with Ryan, either for next season or longer, but the bigger task to handle will be figuring out the mess of a salary cap situation, also known as Mark Sanchez’s contract. Most general manager candidates have already held the position with another team or are in charge of player personnel. My top five candidates, based on who has interviewed and other stuff, are: Tom Gamble, San Francisco 49ers Director of Player Personnel – Having multiple ties to the Jets, Gamble was thought to be the frontrunner until he took an interview with the San Diego Chargers. Dave Caldwell, Atlanta Falcons Director of Player Personnel – Caldwell has also already interviewed but I haven’t heard anything special about him. The Falcons do have good players though… Scott Cohen, New York Jets Assistant General Manager – You can look at it two ways: he was apart of back-to-back AFC title game appearances, or he was apart of the past two seasons. Marc Ross, New York Giants Director of College Scouting – Ross will likely be interviewed to satisfy the “Rooney Rule,” the rule that requires organizations to interview at least one minority candidate. While I understand why the rule exists, it is really a pointless one because most teams know who they’re going after for whatever the position is. Brian Gaine, Miami Dolphins Assistant General Manager – Gaine is probably an unlikely candidate but he is a former Jet player and scout who, in the words of Rich Cimini, comes with Bill Parcells’ stamp of approval. Rodgers That   Follow Dan Rodgers on Twitter: @dhrodgers52 Stats and information courtesy of ESPN.com