Is Peter Schrager Helping the Jets With Their GM Search? [UPDATE]
The Jets fired Mike Maccagnan last week after he lost a power struggle with new head coach Adam Gase, and what they do to replace their general manager is a matter of intrigue. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News had an interesting nugget that Fox Sports sideline reporter and NFL Network Good Morning Football personality Peter Schrager could be involved in facets of the search:
Jets won’t be hiring a search firm/consultant for GM search like they did for the previous two hires.
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) May 21, 2019
However, they’ve told people that TV personality & sideline reporter Peter Schrager could be contacted for assistance on prospective candidates. His name has come up internally
Schrager and spokespeople for NFL Network did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this report; a spokesperson for Fox Sports declined to comment. In a brief telephone conversation, Mehta stood by the report but declined to elaborate further on exactly what he meant by the “could be contacted for assistance” wording in the tweet; it sounds like he will have a written item explaining it more in the Daily News by the end of the day.
Especially in the last couple years, it is not unheard of for media members to have roles with sports organizations. Mike Mayock left NFL Network to be general manager of the Raiders, Lee Jenkins left Sports Illustrated for a role in the Clippers front office, and Jessica Mendoza has dual roles as a commentator on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and a consultancy role in the Mets front office. NFL Network scouting analyst Daniel Jeremiah was reportedly a candidate for this very Jets GM job, though he denies having been contacted about it.
Just based on the tweet, it would seem that Schrager’s role in the Jets’ search would be more informal in the sense that he is not on their payroll. Perhaps more details of his consultancy — or lack thereof — will come to light at a later time.
Just yesterday, at about the five-minute mark of the video below, Schrager broke down the Jets’ GM search:
In the clip, Schrager talked about the candidacies of Eagles front office executive Joe Douglas and Peyton Manning, and also floated Chad Pennington as a conceivable choice for the job.
UPDATE: The Jets appear to be denying Mehta’s report.
A Jets source said that while the team respects Peter Schrager, the only conversations the team has had with the broadcaster are about him working on their preseason telecasts. #nyj
— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) May 21, 2019
UPDATE II: Mehta writes in the Daily News that Schrager and Jets owner Christopher Johnson are close friends, and adds:
"Schrager has been mentioned as a potential resource in internal discussions, according to a team source. The feeling is that the Jets believed they could turn to Schrager for opinions, suggestions and/or intel on quality candidates if they needed help."
It’ll be interesting to see if this story has further legs.