NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Maccagnan helped lead the Jets‘ coaching search this offseason Brian Burns Jersey , spent big money in free agency and oversaw the team’s draft.Now, stunningly, he’s out as New York’s general manager.announced the decision to fire Maccagnan in a statement posted Wednesday on the team’s Twitter account.“It was a decision that evolved,” Johnson said during a conference call a few hours after the announcement. “And it took a while and maybe I was slow with that decision, but I finally came to it in the last few days.”Coach Adam Gase will serve as the acting general manager while the Jets search for a replacement. He wasted no time in his new role, trading linebacker Darron Lee to Kansas City for a sixth-round draft pick, pending a physical, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither team had announced the move late Wednesday night.ESPN reported that Brian Heimerdinger, the Jets’ vice president of player personnel, also was fired.Maccagnan had long been on the hot seat, so the move itself isn’t necessarily a shocker. The timing, however, is particularly surprising because Maccagnan ran the Jets’ draft less than three weeks ago Greg Little Jersey , including taking defensive tackle Quinnen Williams with the No. 3 overall pick.“There’s never a good time to make a decision like this, honestly,” Johnson said. “But it’s a process.”That included Johnson deciding to “get deeply embedded” in the organization’s football operations by taking what he called a “deeper dive” this offseason.“I was part of a lot of discussions about the free agents and sat in on dozens of interviews with the guys at the combine and sat in on scouting meetings and watched this process,” Johnson said. “I understood more fully Mike’s role in this building and what I’m hoping for in our future GM.”Johnson emphasized he wants “a strategic thinker” and added that “it’s more than a talent evaluation guy.” He also said he wants “a great manager, a communicator — someone who can collaborate well with the building.”There were reports during the last several weeks that there was tension between Maccagnan and Gase — which both denied.“This had nothing to do with Adam,” Johnson insisted. “I mean, I want good give-and-take between our GM and the coach. This was not one person or another winning a power struggle. This was completely my decision.”Maccagnan, who was hired as GM in 2015, had two years remaining on his contract after getting an extension at the end of the 2017 season. He was not relieved of his duties this past offseason when coach Todd Bowles was fired — leading many to assume that Maccagnan’s job was not in immediate jeopardy.“The more I looked, the more I realized that I wanted to move on,” Johnson said while refusing to go into specifics.Maccagnan was fully involved in the coaching search and hiring of Gase. He also was active in free agency, spending more than $125 million to land the likes of running back Le’Veon Bell , linebacker C.J. Mosley and wide receiver Jamison Crowder. He also acquired left guard Kelechi Osemele from Oakland in a trade.The Jets also have what they believe is a franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold Will Grier Jersey , who was the third overall pick in last year’s draft after Maccagnan engineered a deal with Indianapolis to move up from the No. 6 spot. Safety Jamal Adams and defensive lineman Leonard Williams are also recent draft picks by Maccagnan who have become building blocks for the defense. Starting wide receiver Robby Anderson was also a terrific find as an undrafted free agent in 2016.But Maccagnan’s draft history since coming to New York after 15 years in various scouting positions with the Houston Texans is otherwise shaky, at best.Only 11 of the 22 players selected in his first three years are still on New York’s roster. The first-rounders have been starters — Adams (2017), Lee (2016) and Williams (2015) — but Lee became expendable with the Jets having Mosley and Avery Williamson at the inside linebacker spots.Several other early round picks have been busts. Second-rounders Devin Smith (2015) and Christian Hackenberg (2016), and third-rounders Lorenzo Mauldin (2015) and ArDarius Stewart (2017) are all out of the league.And now, the Jets will move forward with someone else making the personnel decisions. Johnson said Gase will “assist” in the search.Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas is believed to be a primary candidate to replace Maccagnan. Douglas and Gase have a previous working relationship: Douglas was Chicago’s director of college scouting in 2015, when Gase was the Bears’ offensive coordinator.In the meantime, Gase will oversee all roster moves as the Jets enter the next phase of the offseason with organized team activities set to begin next week. During his three seasons as coach of the Dolphins, Gase had final say on personnel decisions. He’ll now have the same authority with the Jets — at least until they hire a general manager.When he was introduced as New York’s coach in January, Gase downplayed his power, saying it was “just kind of how it worked out in Miami” and that he “didn’t even ask” for a similar setup when the Jets hired him.In New York, the coach and general manager report directly to Johnson, a unique structure in the NFL. Most teams have the coach report directly to the GM, who then reports to the owner. Johnson Christian Miller Jersey , however, has insisted that that’s the structure he believes works best and will remain in place when the Jets hire Maccagnan’s replacement.Under Maccagnan, the Jets were 24-40 with no playoff appearances in four seasons. The team’s only winning season in that span came in the first year for Maccagnan and Bowles in 2015, when New York was 10-6 but fell a win short of making the postseason.“I think that by diving deep in the organization, I had a better idea of what was wrong and where I wanted to head with this,” Johnson said. “This is a long-term plan. We’re trying to win football games. And, I just felt we had to have a new GM to help us do that.” BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Freddie Kitchens got intensely defensive about the Browns new offensive star. Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t in any trouble with his coach.Kitchens’ voice rising to deliver his message, Cleveland’s first-year coach said Saturday he’s not upset that Beckham has skipped the first two phases of the team’s voluntary offseason workout program.“Of course, I would rather him be here than not here, but I understand why,” Kitchens said. “I talk to Odell every day. He knows what we’re doing offensively every day. He will be ready to play. Don’t worry about that.”While his teammates — with the exception of disgruntled running back Duke Johnson — have been practicing and developing camaraderie, Beckham Jordan Scarlett Jersey , who was acquired in a March trade with the New York Giants, has been training in California.Kitchens dismissed the idea that Beckham not being around could have a negative effect on the Browns. He pointed out that NFL defensive stars Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald have not been with their teams in previous years for offseason workouts.“Now, it benefits and it is better for us to have them here us being a new staff, but if we can’t have him ready to play when he shows up, they need to find a new head coach and they need to find a new position coach,” said Kitchens, hired in January after a successful interim stint as offensive coordinator last season.Beckham has drawn some criticism for his absence, which some have viewed as more evidence that he’s a selfish player.And while Kitchens would prefer Beckham was at every practice and meeting, he’s not letting the issue sidetrack the Browns.“I also understand that you guys are trying to define and draw lines in the sand between coaches and players and players and players and that ain’t gonna happen anymore,” Kitchens told reporters. “And there’s no problem with Odell not being here. I’d rather him be here. He’s not here. It’s voluntary. That’s what the word voluntary means. He can decide to come or he can’t.“But under no circumstance am I going to say that I’m pissed off at Odell for not being here. He’ll be ready to play and ultimately that’s the only thing I want, for him to be ready to play when we start kicking off in September and he will be — I promise you.”Beckham spent five sometimes rocky seasons with the Giants. He was excited for a new start in Cleveland, but other than coming in for an introductory news conference on April 1, he’s been elsewhere.Earlier this week David Montgomery Jersey , Jarvis Landry posted on social media that he’s training and promised Browns fans that he’ll be “the best version of myself on and off the field.”Kitchens isn’t concerned about Beckham’s time away impacting his connection with Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. The pair has trained together in the summer.“I’ll tell you this about Odell Beckham and Baker Mayfield,” Kitchens said. “I think they have a pretty good relationship and they’ve formed pretty good camaraderie. They’ve worked out for two summers in California and I don’t see their camaraderie being a problem.”As for Johnson, who asked to be traded after the team signed Kareem Hunt, there had been speculation the Browns would deal him this weekend. But that didn’t happen, and Kitchens seemed confident Johnson may stay around.“Duke is under contract,” he said. “I have said this for like a month now, I don’t know where all this trade talk started happening. People just assumed that we are going to trade him because we signed another good football player. Me, personally, I like good football players and I like as many of them as we can get. Then, it is our job to get them the ball and to help to enable them to help us win in whatever role that is.“Duke Johnson is on this football team, Duke Johnson will have a vital role in this football team and Duke Johnson will help us win football games. Am I surprised that he’s still here? No, not one bit. I haven’t wavered and never said anything different other than that.”
