Jets tab Idzik as new GM

Florham Park, NJ – The New York Jets have concluded their search for a new general manager, naming John Idzik to the position on Friday.

New York fired former general manager Mike Tannenbaum following the team's disappointing 6-10 finish in 2012, and after a lengthy interview process, the Jets finally settled on Idzik, who served as the vice president of football administration with the Seattle Seahawks for the past six seasons.

"I am honored and extremely excited to be joining the New York Jets," said Idzik. "It has been very enlightening getting to know Mr. Woody Johnson, Rex Ryan and Neil Glat, and I am very grateful for them making me feel very welcomed as a member of the Jets family. I am eager to get started building on the foundation that is already in place."

A mathematics major out of Dartmouth, Idzik's strength is as a capologist, and will have major personnel and financial issues to sort out with the Jets, who currently have little offseason spending money and have significant deficiencies throughout the roster.

Prior to joining the Seahawks, Idzik was the senior director of football operations with the Arizona Cardinals, where he spent three seasons in helping to lay the foundation of the team's 2008 NFC Championship team roster.

After several years coaching college football, Idzik got his first NFL gig with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1993, spending 11 years with the club and eventually becoming assistant general manager in 2001.

"After a thorough search in which we met many qualified and outstanding candidates, it was clear to me that John was the right choice," said Jets owner Woody Johnson. "During his two decades in the NFL, John helped build a Super Bowl championship team in Tampa Bay, an NFC championship team in Arizona and, most recently, a team in Seattle that narrowly missed reaching the NFC championship game.

"John has seen first-hand what's necessary to construct a winning team and has worked with some of the most innovative and successful coaches in the NFL, including Pete Carroll, Tony Dungy, Dennis Green, Jon Gruden and Mike Holmgren," Johnson continued. "Drawing on 20 years of NFL experience, John, working with Rex, will get the Jets where all of us want to be."

One of Idzik's first responsibilities will be assisting in the hire of the team's new offensive coordinator. New York fired Tony Sparano after just one season at the position.