Mike Maccagnan officially hired as Jets general manager

The worst kept secret in New York sports became official on Tuesday evening as the New York Jets announced thatMike Maccagnanwill be their new general manager.

On Sunday, Metro reported citing a team source that Maccagnan, formerly the Texans director of college scouting, was shortly to be made the Jets general manager. Tuesday’s news confirms sources who told Metro that Maccagnan was a “home run” in his interview and that there was a clear comfort level with owner Woody Johnson.

The sources at the time indicated that Maccagnan and the Jets were close to signing a deal, something that came to fruition on Tuesday afternoon.

“We interviewed a number of impressive, qualified candidates, but Mike Maccagnan clearly stood out,” said Johnson in a statement issued by the team. “Mike’s attention to detail, strong personnel background and collaborative approach to evaluating players made it clear that he is the right choice to be the next General Manager of the New York Jets. I want to thank Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf for their contributions during this search. Their experience, guidance and expertise have been invaluable. We are proud to welcome Mike to the organization and I am confident that he will help us build a winning team.”

Each interview for the position was a minimum of three hours in length and led by Johnson along with his tem of consultants. Maccagnan will report directly to Johnson.

He inherits a team that, while lacking some pieces, has plenty of cap space thanks to the frugality of former general manager John Idzik and has a lot of young players on the two-deep. The Jets also hold the No. 6 overall pick, a selection that could yield them a weapon on offense or potentially be trade bait to move back in the draft.

The selection of Maccagnan shows a clear shift in priorities for owner Woody Johnson. Idzik was not a player personnel specialist despite the team’s best efforts to paint him as anything but a bean counter. In their new general manager, the Jets have someone with a proven track record of being able to scout talent. The Jets will need that, especially with a severe lack of young, to-tier talent currently on their roster.

With 19 picks in the last two drafts run by Idzik, only defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson has impressed, with the rest of the draft picks proving to be rather raw if not downright inconsistent. The Jets could do well to yield several contributors in this upcoming draft to bolster what should be an active offseason.

The team could have anywhere between $40 million to $60 million in cap space with which to re-sign their core players and pursue free agents, likely making them one of the more active team’s in the upcoming free agent market.

“Mike Maccagnan is an outstanding football man, one who is highly organized, and an excellent evaluator,” said former NFL executive Charlie Casserly, who was a consultant brought on board by the Jets for the hiring process. “He is very thorough in his preparation and will do a terrific job for the Jets.”

Maccagnan is a native of Hightstown, N.J.