One-time Jets teammates Willie Colon and Nick Mangold had almost the same reaction as fans and the NFL community at the stunning news the team was moving on from canning general manager Mike Maccagnan less than three weeks after the NFL draft.
“What the hell is going on?” Colon said he thought.
“Crazy,” Mangold said. “Just as you all are confused, so am I.”
In an apparent power play by new coach Adam Gase, the Jets opted to move on from Maccagnan on Wednesday, after allowing him to spend $120 million in free agency this offseason and run the team’s draft. Gase was named interim GM by owner Christopher Johnson, and even made a trade Wednesday night, sending disappointing linebacker Darron Lee to the Chiefs in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
Despite rumors during the draft Gase and Maccagnan weren’t seeing eye to eye, it still caught many off guard — especially after the Jets denied such rumors. The former Jets offensive linemen felt the same way.
“It is [strange]. You figure you let a guy handle your free agency, let him handle your draft, that’s the kind of moves you let a guy make who will be around for the future,” said Colon, who was at Yankee Stadium for the CC Sabathia charity softball game Thursday night.
“It came out of nowhere,” Mangold said. “Just as surprised as everybody else. … I love Chris Johnson. I think he’s learning as he goes. There’s no real school for owning a football team.”
With all that, Colon said he likes the talent the Jets have accumulated this offseason.
“I love the pickup of C.J. Mosley, I feel like Le’Veon Bell was needed,” Colon said. “They’re still on the right track. Nothing has happened. The season hasn’t started. Camp hasn’t even started. We just have to have faith.
“We got to believe in Sam Darnold, we got to believe in Jamal Adams, we got to believe in the guys in that locker room.”