As the New York Jets prepare to play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, their more significant business will commence this week when they begin their general manager interviews, league sources told ESPN.
Included on the list of candidates expected to interview for the Jets job are former Titans general manager Jon Robinson, who at one point helped build one of the league's better rosters in Tennessee, and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who previously has worked in the Philadelphia and Washington front offices.
There will be other candidates as well, and the Jets plan to announce or confirm each GM interview after it is completed, but Robinson's is expected this week, with Riddick's coming at a later date, according to sources.
The Jets are not married to hiring a general manager first and a head coach second -- nor vice versa -- as the organization undertakes a thorough process aimed at yielding the best candidates in each position. It just happens that the interviews for the GM job will start first.
Robinson and Riddick are free to meet with the Jets any time they wish, whereas other candidates who are with NFL organizations cannot interview with the team until after the regular season ends. That's why the process with candidates not employed by other NFL teams starts this week.
During his time in Tennessee, Robinson oversaw the Titans' drafting of running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver A.J. Brown. The team never had a losing season and made the playoffs four times during Robinson's seven years as general manager before he was fired in December 2022 in a move that floored people across the league.
Robinson is the second-winningest general manager in franchise history, with 69 wins (including playoffs), trailing only Floyd Reese (111).
Riddick has been linked to multiple front office vacancies in recent years and interviewed for the Pittsburgh Steelers' GM job that went to Omar Khan in May 2022. Riddick is doing the color commentary for Monday night's Falcons-Raiders game and, in part because of his ESPN duties, is expected to interview in the coming weeks.
He played seven seasons in the NFL for four teams after being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1991. He followed that with nearly 13 years in front office roles with Washington and Philadelphia, including leading the pro personnel departments of both franchises. Riddick also interviewed for GM openings in 2020 with the Lions and Texans.
The Jets recently retained The 33rd Team to support them in their general manager and head coaching searches. Former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman are leading the project for the NFL technology and media company. The 33rd Team has been providing its data analysis and lending its experience to assist the Jets.
The Jets (3-10) fired Joe Douglas as their general manager last month, six weeks after ousting coach Robert Saleh.