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| Friday, January 12 Associated Press | |||
| HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Terry Bradway knew the New York Jets
wanted to move quickly to replace Bill Parcells. He just didn't
think it was going to be this quick.
Bradway, who spent the last nine years with the Kansas City
Chiefs, arrived for his interview at 9 a.m. Thursday and five hours
later he was anointed as the Jets' new general manager.
"He impressed me with his enthusiasm and drive, and he shares
the same values we share," said team owner Woody Johnson. "We're
interested in one thing and that's winning. He brings a lot of
weapons to this task."
Bradway, most recently vice president of player personnel for
the Chiefs, overseeing Kansas City's professional and college
scouting operations, has spent 18 years in football. He was a scout
for the New York Giants from 1986-92, when the team won the Super
Bowl twice with Parcells as coach. From 1983-85, he was assistant
director of player personnel for the USFL's Baltimore/Philadelphia
Stars.
"I know this happened relatively quickly," he said of getting
the Jets' job. "I know they did their research and I did mine.
This is a good football program and team. Obviously, there's a lot
of work to get done. The first order of business is to look for a
coach. That process began two hours ago."
An NFL source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The
Associated Press that Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Dom Capers
is at the top of Bradway's wish list for a coach. The source said
Capers would be interviewed before Sunday.
Herman Edwards, the Bucs' assistant head coach and defensive backs coach, and Bills defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell are also on the Jets' wish list for head coach.
Parcells quit as Jets director of football operations Tuesday,
10 days after Al Groh resigned as coach to become coach at
Virginia. Johnson began interviewing candidates for the GM job on
Wednesday, talking with Jerry Angelo of Tampa Bay and Rick Donohue
of the New York Giants. Then it was Bradway's turn.
The day before the interview, Bradway talked to Marty
Schottenheimer, longtime coach of the Chiefs who was hired last
week to coach the Washington Redskins. "He said, `Just be
yourself.' That's what I tried to do."
Apparently, Bradway was on the list of candidates suggested by
Parcells. The two men worked together when Bradway scouted and
Parcells coached the Giants.
"You always take Bill Parcells' advice," Johnson said. "He
gave me a list. It matched a list we put together. Terry was on a
number of lists. People in the league came up with praise for Terry
and the job he's done. He seemed too good to be true: motivated,
honest, a hard worker."
Like the Jets' GM search, the hunt for a coach will occur sooner
rather than later.
"The longer you wait, the pool of coaches will diminish," he
said. "There are a lot of good candidates out there. I want to
start the interview process as soon as possible and make an
informed decision to get a coach we all can work with, and bring a
consistent winner to the New York Jets."
Bradway was asked if he thought a time frame of three weeks
might be reasonable for hiring a coach.
"Three weeks is very conservative," he said.
Considering how quickly the GM search went, three days might be
conservative.
| ALSO SEE
Parcells says he's gone; who's at controls of Jets? | ||
The New York Jets announce Terry Bradway as their new general manager.