Texans fire GM, Jets hire theirs in wild day around NFL

The New York Jets and Houston Texans both sent out press releases on Friday regarding their general manager positions. They were of opposite tone.

For Houston, the announcement was glum. Less than two years into a five-year contract, owner Bob McNair decided to part ways with general manager Brian Gaine. Despite having won the AFC South under Gaie last year with an 11-5 mark, McNair decided it was time to move on.

In fairness, there are reasons for Gaine’s dismissal beyond the absurd. For starters, the Texans used their 2017 first-round pick on quarterback Deshaun Watson, trading their 2018 first-round pick to do so. Watson has been terrific, but the offensive line in front of him has been anything but. Watson was sacked a league-high 62 times last season, leading to him actually having to drive to Jacksonville in lieu of flying to save the stress on his ribs.

Gaine also failed to put any significant weapons around him in addition to DeAndre Hopkins. Will Fuller V is a nice player, but he’s not the type of receiver that can run a full route tree and put pressure on the defense consistently. Running back Lamar Miller is a good but unspectacular back, and the tight end position has been inhabited by a slew of underwhelming names.

While Gaine certainly had an argument to hold onto his job and build on the foundation that’s in place, there’s also enough holes in his work to move on.

As for the Jets, their long, strange trip to finding a new general manager ended on Friday night with the hiring of Joe Douglas. Douglas, who had served as the Vice President of player personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles, had long been their top target and the favorite to land the job.

Douglas comes into a team that has a young quarterback with star potential in Sam Darnold, but also some cap issues. New York spent lavishly this offseason, signing running back Le’Veon Bell, inside linebacker C.J. Mosley and slot receiver Jamison Crowder to contracts combining for $165.5 million. Then there’s cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who last offseason signed for $75 million and then disappointed in 2018.

Still, with Darnold in the fold and a team with upside around him, Douglas has to be excited. New York is starved for a football winner — whether the fan wears blue or green, for that matter — and if Douglas can bring one home, he’s a hero.