New York Jets Interview Highly-Respected TV Analyst for General Manager Job

The New York Jets interviewed an ESPN football analyst who had more than a decade in the NFL as a personnel director.

Oct 11, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; ESPN football analyst Louis Riddick walks the field at M&T Bank Stadium before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The New York Jets interviewed their fourth candidate for their vacant general manager post as they talked with ESPN analyst Louis Riddick about the job earlier this week.

The Jets made the formal announcement about the interview on Thursday.

Riddick is the fourth person to interview for the general manager job. New York has not formally interviewed anyone for the head-coaching job.

Riddick has spent more than a decade with ESPN as an analyst for both pro and college football, with his current duties as a game analyst in the college ranks. Most recently, he served as a game analyst for College Football Playoff games.

But before he moved into television he worked in NFL scouting for a decade, beginning his career with Washington as a pro scout in 2001 and eventually becoming director of pro personnel with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010. He also played in the NFL.

He has previously interviewed for the open GM spots in Houston, Detroit and Pittsburgh in recent offseasons.  

Riddick is well respected as an analyst and in NFL circles, as evidenced by his previous interviews.

He is the second candidate interviewed that doesn’t have general manager experience. The other was Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy.

Before the Senior Bowl, Nagy worked in NFL personnel for more than 20 years, most recently as the southeast scout for the Seattle Seahawks from 2013-18.

He has four Super Bowl rings, one with Green Bay, two with New England and one with Seattle.

The other two candidates have previously been done the job — former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson.

Earlier this week multiple outlets reported that the Jets would interview two former NFL head coaches this week. One was Ron Rivera, who last coached Washington and was also interviewed on Thursday. The other is former Jets coach Rex Ryan, who revealed during media appearances earlier this week that he would get a shot at the job.

The Jets began official interviews last month for the GM position. The Jets are only able to interview candidates that are not employed by NFL teams. New York can begin interviewing candidates for both GM and head coach that are employed by NFL teams two days after the end of the regular season.

The Jets fired general manager Joe Douglas last month, who was hired six years ago and failed to get New York into the playoffs. Phil Savage, a former NFL general manager, is the interim GM.

New York also fired head coach Robert Saleh five games into the season. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is the interim coach, but he is not expected to be a candidate for the job.