When we received the press release on Wednesday afternoon declaring that the Jets have hired a new president, my first reaction was to shrug. Many teams have executives who run the business side of the franchise.
But then it occurred to me that, until we know whether long-time league office executive Neil Glat will try to influence directly or indirectly the football side of the operation, it’s impossible to know whether the introduction of a new personality into the upper reaches of the organization will create any type of friction.
In the announcement, owner Woody Johnson says that "[t]here were a number of highly qualified candidates.” What does G.M. Mike Tannenbaum, who reportedly will still report directly to Johnson, truly think about Glat? Was there another candidate Tannenbaum preferred?
For now, there’s no specific reason to think that change will be coming to the Jets. But to the extent that Glat becomes a confidant/adviser to Johnson, Glat’s opinions of men like Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan could be a factor in the short-term and long-term future of the franchise.
Indeed, the last time the league office placed an executive as president as one of its teams, John Collins eventually made a failed run at former Browns G.M. Phil Savage. For now, there’s no way for anyone on the outside to know what Glat eventually will do -- and everyone on the inside will be saying only the right things.