Hires are happening fast and furious for the New York Jets on the coaching front and now GM Mike Maccagnan has made two key hires for the front office.
One name, Brian Heimerdinger should be a familiar one to Jets fans. Brian’s father, the late Mike Heimerdinger was the Jets’ offensive coordinator in 2005. Brian however, will be coming to the Jets not to roam the sidelines or call plays, but to fill what Albert Breer is calling “a prominent front office role”.
Breer is also reporting the addition of Rex Hogan of the Chicago Bears. Hogan got his start as an administrator in 2000 when he spent almost three years in recruiting and operations with The Unitversity of Notre Dame. From there it was on to Director of Football Operations at the University of Utah.
He broke in to the NFL as a college scout for the Bears in 2003, and worked his way up to the national scout position in 2012 and that is the role he’ll be walking away from to join the Jets front office. Hogan is expected to be released from his contract to join Maccagnan’s staff.
When he was initially hired, it was reported that Maccagnan requested enough funding to beef up the Jets scouting department and owner Woody Johnson agreed. The Jets’ draft record over the past several seasons has more swings than misses, and Johnson is clearly hoping that the addition of a personnel man in the GM chair and additional resources will help turn things around.