Steelers Andy Weidl Mentioned as NY Jets GM Candidate
Pittsburgh Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the New York Jets GM job.
Pittsburgh Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl has been floated as a potential candidate for the New York Jets general manager vacancy.
Jets owner Woody Johnson fired general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday, opening up the team’s GM position for the first time since 2019. ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler suggested Weidl as a candidate on Wednesday, along with several other options.
Weidl formerly worked under Douglas while was the vice president of player personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-19. Weidl was the Eagles’ assistant director of player personnel from 2016-17 and became director of player personnel in 2019. He took over as vice president of player personnel upon Douglas’ departure in 2020.
Weidl held that job until he became the assistant general manager under Omar Khan in his native Pittsburgh in 2022. Khan and Weidl have reshaped the Steelers’ roster with a collection of shrewd moves in free agency, and especially in the draft, where Weidl has overseen a total revamp of the team’s offensive line.
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It’s unclear whether Johnson would be interested in hiring from the same general manager tree once more, though it’s hard to argue with the results for Eagles general manager Howie Roseman.
Current Eagles assistant general manager Alec Halaby was also put forward as a candidate, along with either former Douglas apprentice in Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander.
Whoever takes the Jets GM job is inheriting a mess, with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers still under contract, young starts Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner already well into their rookie contracts and a coaching staff that needs a total reset.
Weidl seems comfortable with his hometown Steelers, and has an elevated role compared to some assistant general managers, because Khan does not have a scouting background, so it would take an enticing opportunity to get him to leave Pittsburgh, but there are only 32 NFL general manager jobs, and unlike coaching positions, they don’t come open very often.
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