New York Jets to Interview ESPN Analyst Louis Riddick for their General Manager opening

New York Jets to Interview ESPN Analyst Louis Riddick for their General Manager opening

This week will mark a turn in the New York Jets’ search for a general manager as it will go from theoretical to actual.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday, prior to the Jets’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, that New York would interview at least two applicants for the position this week: former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson and ESPN’s Louis Riddick.

Since neither is currently employed by an NFL team, the Jets can interview both.

NFL teams are not allowed to contact candidates until the regular season is over. According to the article, Riddick would be interrogated after Robinson.

According to reports, the Jets will also verify the completion of each interview and the status of other unidentified applicants in line. Joe Douglas, who was hired six years ago and failed to push New York into the playoffs, was sacked by the Jets last month.

He was the second major firing of the season, as owner Woody Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start.

The Jets announced a partnership with The 33rd team, a search firm managed by former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, to help facilitate the search for both a general manager and a head coach.

Robinson ran the Titans from 2016-22 as its general manager, which means he has close ties to former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who many believe will be on the Jets’ list to interview after the season.

He also has close ties to New England and their former coach, Bill Belichick, as he started his NFL career as an area scout for the Patriots in 2002. He worked his way up to director of college scouting and in 2013 left the organization to become Tampa bay’s director of player personnel.

While with the Patriots he contributed to two Super Bowl championships in their scouting department.

Robinson built a roster that helped the Titans go to the playoffs four times, including an AFC Championship game appearance.

Riddick has spent more than a decade with ESPN as an analyst for both pro and college football, with his current duties as a game analyst in the college ranks.

But before he moved into television he worked in NFL scouting for a decade, beginning his career with Washington as a pro scout in 2001 and eventually becoming director of pro personnel with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010. He also played in the NFL.

He has previously interviewed for the open GM spots in Houston, Detroit and Pittsburgh in recent offseasons