http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/would-you-vote-to-re-elect-mike-tannenbaum/ No, Mike Tannenbaum?s contract is not up for renewal, so don?t expect to see him smile for the cameras while asking ?How?m I doing?? in the way Ed Koch did in New York from 1978 to 1989. But Tannenbaum has been the Jets? general manager for almost four years. His body of work has taken shape. The problem is that if Tannenbaum were to ask ?How?m I doing?? it would still be difficult to answer. Let?s give it a shot anyway. It is fair to say the Jets? first three seasons under Tannenbaum have resembled a roller coaster ride. In addition to the team?s fluctuating records (10-6, 4-12 and 9-7), the Jets have been in upheaval for much of the time. In September, the Jets will play their fourth season opener under Tannenbaum. They will be on their third starting quarterback (Chad Pennington, Brett Favre and either Mark Sanchez or Kellen Clemens) and second coach (Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan). And unlike Jerry Reese, the Giants? third-year G.M., who doesn?t have to ask how he?s doing because of the Super Bowl ring on his finger, Tannenbaum doesn?t have a playoff record to speak of. The Jets? only postseason appearance under Tannenbaum resulted in a loss to the Patriots in an A.F.C. wild-card game in January 2007. What are Tannenbaum?s strengths? Well, he seems to have the firm support of the Jets? owner, Woody Johnson. When Eric Mangini was fired in December, Johnson said of Tannenbaum: ?I?m very comfortable with Mike. Mike is another guy that works around the clock, and he?s very smart about it.? Another is that Tannenbaum seems to have a clear understanding of his role. When he was hired to replace Terry Bradway in 2006, he said: ?My job is to get the head coach players. We will look under every rock, every day.? To Tannenbaum?s credit, he has never veered off that course. Before I hand this off to Fifth Down readers for discussion, let me weigh in with a few talking points. 1) Tannenbaum has shown he is not afraid to be bold and decisive, a quality essential to surviving in New York. His move to trade up in the first round of the 2007 draft paid off with cornerback Darrelle Revis. And boldness was certainly an ingredient in trading up to draft quarterback Mark Sanchez (the result will probably be the biggest part of Tannenbaum?s legacy). The trade for Brett Favre last year showed that Tannenbaum was committed to doing whatever was necessary to try to get the Jets closer to a Super Bowl. 2) Tannenbaum?s stumbles would appear to be his handling of some contract issues (i.e. the Pete Kendall dispute) and an uneven record in the draft. Could the Jets have done better than drafting quarterback Kellen Clemens and linebacker Anthony Schlegel in the second and third rounds in 2006? The answer is probably yes if you are a fan of running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who was taken by Jacksonville 11 selections after Clemens was taken. And the Kendall fiasco played a major role in the Jets? demise in 2007 (it remains to be seen whether Tannenbaum will trip up with Leon Washington or Thomas Jones). Tannenbaum seems to have avoided the major gaffes that undermined some of his Jets predecessors. Do you remember Dick Steinberg?s decision to hire Bruce Coslet as coach over Mike Holmgren in 1990? Or how about Terry Bradway?s trade of a 2005 first-round pick to Oakland for tight end Doug Jolley, who played one season for the Jets and was out of the N.F.L. by 2006? Even though Chad Pennington led the Dolphins to the A.F.C. East title last season after he was released by the Jets, few are saying that the Jets would have had a better chance to win the Super Bowl had he stayed in New York. There is more to talk about, but I?ll leave the rest up to you. The polls are open. indeed they are
if sanchez does very well, and he isn't praised - then he will definitely be one of the most underrated GMs
I definitely wouldn't fire him at this point, but I don't know if I'd "re-elect" him quite yet. When is the end of his term? I need to see him build some depth on this team. I think he's done well acquiring solid starters, but as many have pointed out he's paid a lot for it. Hopefully part of his "plan" involves starting to build depth through the draft in 2010. He's also neglected that 3-4 d-line in the draft which is concerning to me.
I'm a Tanny supporter but having said that.....I couldn't pass on the beer.....it's my birthright, being a Canuck and all.
the 1st round picks have looked better by comparison to the other selections that previous GMs have made, but what fascinates me is that, coincidentally, the one year where he did draft for depth they went to the playoffs. Of course by Jets standards, which are horrifically low, he is doing a fine job. 1st round picks that are flourishing more than busting, more winning seasons than losing ones, and no coaching decisions that are embarrassing. But by outsider standards, its OK. Not great. The nice thing is that he and the new coach have shown they want to be more than just OK. They want to be great. He's hungry for success. It seems honest too. Its not just hearing what you want to hear out of the figureheads, even if its total bullshit. To earn recognition, he is going to need those on the field choices to win playoff games. He has now selected a blue chip QB, which is the make or break of a GMs career. If it works out, he's a hero and this team gets closer to being a respected franchise... if not, well - we've been through it how many times? The difference is, now the fanbase is beginning to believe in itself, because the team believes in itself - especially the Head Coach. I'd re-elect him so far, but the smarter move would be to not answer this question until he is 6 seasons in. Thats when his 1st selections are in the dead center of their careers and the rookies this year are entering their breakout year.
I like Mike. He has been strong so far. He he gotten the big free agents that we coveted. He snared Faneca and snagged Pace from Parcells. Not to mention Favre (who I wish he didn't get). A far cry from the Winfield fiasco. He also STOLE TJ and he Sanchez. He is a great negotiator with other GMs and with Agents. He gets guys to camp on time. His picks have been above average. He has 2 pro bowlers already Mangold and Leon and Revis is not far behind. Harris was a great pick too. His only glaring error was Schlegal and possibly Gholston but it is too early to tell. He is a cap wiz. We are never in cap hell with the guy despite his spending sprees. There is always enough when we need to go get a difference maker. I don't see how much more the guy can do to put us in a position to win. He has been a very solid GM.
I'm currently on the fence with this one. I like most of the high-end talent he has brought into the team (Brick, Mangold, Revis, Harris, Keller). While he does have a couple of disappointments (Clemens and Gholston so far) and one bit question mark who could make or break his career (Sanchez), he hasn't done much to build the back of the roster through the draft. Aside from Cotchery and Stuckey there aren't too many players from the later rounds who have been very effective. His constant trading does bring in a lot of talent in the top rounds of the draft but that can only take a team so far if they do not get the quality depth on the roster that an NFL team needs. Outside of the draft, I think his record becomes a little spotty. The Jenkins trade was huge and I love the trade for Sheppard but aside from those there isn't much that I like about bringing in veteran talent. It's a common opinion that he mishandled the Kendall trade when he did not bring in a suitable replacement and instead stuck with the basic non-presence of Adrian Clarke. His failure to bring in a NT that fit the system for two years is a concern with regards to how he handles talent evaluation and what it did to the development of the defense. I'll say again that I was not a fan of the Brett Favre trade. It was a "win now and now only" move that did not pan out, arrested Kellen Clemens development, and basically made 2008 a lost season. Coaching gaffes notwithstanding, and there were a lot of them, Tannenbaum's boldness in this case, I think, proved to be a detriment rather than a plus. I'm not sure how much of that was Mangini's flawed assesments but as the GM the ultimate responsibility has to fall on him for the makeup of the roster. As for free agency, he is not exactly batting one thousand. Faneca was a good signing but Woodey was only a marginal upgrade as a pass blocker over Clement. He's only brought in an average of one offensive lineman to fill out the depth of the roster per draft and none of them have stuck so far. Slauson could stick but it's way too early to label him either way. I like his aggression in bringing in Sanchez and Greene but so far we are still without a clear-cut starter opposite Cotchery or a solid backup behind Keller. The players in camp could pan out but relying on a diamond in the ruff each year to fill out the roster depth is not the way to go, IMO. I would give him until the next offseason to see how he handles the roster but if he cannot produce adequate depth and keeps on relying on pricey free agents and big draft-day trades into 1st and 2nd round for talent then it could put the Jets on a course for a thin team with little cap room.
Absolutely; Tannenbaum's been bold and outstanding. The only real blemishes right now on his resume are Gholston and Clemens, and neither has really played enough to call them a true blemish yet; other than that, he's done some great things: moving up to get Revis and Harris, moving up for Keller, building a strong O-Line with Brick and Mangold, moving up for Sanchez while giving up way below market value, stealing Jenkins, T.Jones, and Sheppard via trade, landing Scott, Pace, Faneca, Leonhard, and Richardson via free agency, and a lot more. He's also not hesitant to make the bold move, as with Favre, which didn't work out the way we'd all hoped but at least he had the guts to go for it.
his entire situation really depends on 2 things. vernon gholston and mark sanchez. if gholston is as useless as he was last year and sanchez is as overrated as i believe then tanny will go down as a stooge. if not he has done a very good job. i have been happy with his coaching decisions and personnel decisions.... other than those 2.
This is a question for 2011 at this point. Basically if Rex Ryan is in trouble at that point then Tannenbaum should be also. There's no argument short of a disaster next year, say 5 wins or less, for ditching Tannenbaum before Ryan has had two years to get into the job. I'm not remotely sold on him at this point though. Too many of the moves that he has made have been questionable at this point and bringing in big names only gets you so far in the NFL. If the splashy tradeup and free agent signings were the way to go this would be the Redskins NFL, not the Patriots.
'09 and '10 should be the years he is judged on at this point. He's got his second coach in house and Woody has opened the purse wide for him in the last couple of seasons. If he does well then he has a clue about how to win in what will be a new successful NFL paradigm. If he does mediocre then we probably need to go find somebody who really knows the game to run the show. If we get blown out in '09 or '10 then it'll be pretty clear we need a big change.
