The New York Jets are no longer hiring for head coach and general manager.
Another job came off the market on Saturday, reducing the NFL’s unemployment rate, as the Jets hired Darren Mougey to be their next general manager, the team announced.
The 39-year-old Mougey departs the Denver Broncos as a man on a meteoric rise, having earned three promotions in the Mile High City since 2020. His 12-year run there comes to an end with promotion No. 4. The Broncos’ assistant general manager now slides into the big chair in Florham Park, N.J.
The hiring cycle has been a long process for the Jets after firing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season. New York interviewed over 30 candidates in total between their two big openings before finally settling on Mougey and Aaron Glenn.
It leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars as the only NFL team with a general manager position available.
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Here’s what to know about Mougey.
Who is Darren Mougey?
Mougey played college football at San Diego State University, where he overlapped with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. The two have been closely connected over the years, but Mougey settled into a front office role a couple years after college.
He joined the Broncos as a scouting intern in 2012, remaining with the organization until being hired by the Jets this offseason. Mougey was promoted to personnel and scouting assistant in 2013, before becoming a college and pro personnel scout in 2014.
Mougey’s career began to take off in 2015 when he assumed the role of area scout, remaining in that job through the 2019 season.
After that, the rise only continued. He was the assistant director of college scouting in 2020, director of player personnel in 2021 and received the assistant general manager title in 2022.
Mougey has stuck around through six head coaches and two general managers during his time in Denver, becoming a mainstay in the organization.
He was described as a ‘sounding board’ for Sean Payton, according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. Payton is also notoriously close with the Jets’ new coach, which provides some insight into who the team’s new regime is influenced by.
Darren Mougey pronunciation
Mougey isn’t among the self-explanatory names out there. If you want to get the Jets’ new general manager’s name right in conversation, it’s pronounced, ‘MOO-GEE.’
This story was updated with new information.