Woody Johnson calls it a "people business." His business is the New York Jets, and he selected two people from different backgrounds and joined them together to run his franchise, for better or worse, until death do them part. Or until they get fired.
Did Woody the matchmaker get it right with Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles?
Johnson's track record for hiring suggests there's probably a 75 percent chance they achieve playoff-type success. What about a championship? It's impossible to put odds on that, considering, like, it's never happened on Johnson's watch.
"In 15 years, hopefully I've gotten better," Johnson said at Wednesday's news conference.
Let's grade the hirings of the Johnson era, basing the evaluations on longevity, winning seasons and postseason success. We'll skip the Al Groh-Bill Parcells administration since Johnson basically inherited them as he purchased the team in 2000.
You will notice a distinct trend: Each coach/general manager tandem experienced early success but wasn't able to sustain it for a various reasons -- namely, diminished talent, office politics and conflicting agendas.
Herm Edwards/Terry Bradway (2001-2005)
Winning seasons: 3
Postseason wins: 2
Comment: Edwards and Bradway knew each other from the Kansas City Chiefs, so it was a natural fit. They did enough in five years to warrant a longer run (three playoff berths and the franchise's last division title), but Edwards experienced a case of wanderlust (the Chiefs wanted him back) and Bradway lost a power struggle to assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum. It got ugly in the end.
Grade: B-
Eric Mangini/Tannenbaum (2006-2008)
Winning seasons: 2
Postseason wins: 0
Comment: Tannenbaum convinced Johnson that Mangini, his close friend, was a young Bill Belichick. Uh, not exactly. Mangini's draconian style grated on the players. He inherited a four-win team and made the playoffs as a wild card -- remember the "Mangenius" moniker? -- but it fell apart. The '08 team, led by Brett Favre, was too talented not to make the playoffs.
Grade: D
Rex Ryan/Tannenbaum (2009-2012)
Winning seasons: 2
Postseason wins: 4
Comment: Ryan was the right coach at the right time, energizing the franchise with his bravado. It looked like Johnson had something special, especially after two trips to the AFC Championship Game, but the talent got thin and Ryan's boasts became hollow. The lowpoint was the Tim Tebow debacle. Johnson made Tannenbaum the scapegoat.
Grade: B
Ryan/John Idzik (2013-2014)
Winning seasons: 0
Postseason wins: 0
Comment: What was Johnson thinking? He took a cap guy with a limited football background and paired him with a win-now coach. Publicly, Ryan was a good company man, but he was frustrated by Idzik's glacial approach to free agency. There was some hope after an 8-8 finish in 2013, but the marriage was doomed to fail and they both got sacked.
Grade: F