The rain is falling down on Mike Tannenbaum’s parade, the now former general manager of the New York Jets. Tannenbaum was officially let go of his GM duties earlier today, as the team attempts to get back to its glory days after finishing the season with a disappointing 6-10 record and, more importantly, missing the postseason. For their first matter at hand, instead of providing Rex Ryan (who’s pitched a 38-32 record since ’09) his [inevitable] pink slip, owner Woody Johnson cleaned house and Tannenbaum was the first to go. Next up, they must address the issues at quarterback. But, in regards to the GM situation, Woody Johnson had this to say:
“Starting immediately, we will conduct a search for a new general manager,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a team-released statement. “I’ve consulted with a number of football executives and have engaged the services of Korn/Ferry International, the same search firm that conducted the NFL Commissioner search in 2006.
“Our process with Korn/Ferry will be led by Jed Hughes, who heads their sports practice and previously led the general manager search for the Seattle Seahawks among others. When we have updates on this process, we will provide them to our fans and the media.”
Johnson offered an endorsement of Ryan despite his team becoming the first in NFL history to miss the playoffs for two consecutive seasons following two straight appearances in conference championship games.
“I believe that he has the passion, talent and drive to successfully lead our team,” Johnson said. “Like all Jets fans, I am disappointed with this year’s results. However, I am confident that this change will best position our team for greater success going forward.”
Tannenbaum became New York’s general manager in February 2006. The Jets made the playoffs in three of the next seven seasons, but the 2012 campaign was too disastrous for Tannenbaum to survive.
He pulled out a letter as he stood in front of the New York Jets players for one last time on Monday. It was a farewell address to the group of men he signed, traded for or drafted over the last seven years as the team’s general manager. And he choked back tears as he read it.
”It was really heartfelt,” defensive end Mike DeVito said. ”I know Mike, and he’ll bounce back.”
Tannenbaum’s two major miscalculations came at the quarterback position. He acquired quarterback Tim Tebow in an offseason trade with Denver for a fourth-round draft pick that flopped on multiple levels.
Although he brought the franchise the media attention it desperately craves as one of the NFL’s most popular players, Tebow never made an impact on the field. Tebow became a lightning rod of controversy for the way he was — and wasn’t — being used by New York’s coaching staff.
Source: Fox News
