The New York Jets’ search for a new general manager has to start somewhere.
Reportedly, it will start with a former Tennessee Titans GM and an ESPN NFL analyst with a strong front office background.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets are set to interview Jon Robinson and Louis Riddick, the latter of whom is his colleague. Riddick, an ex-NFL defensive back, was a front office member for over a decade before joining the Worldwide Leader as its front office insider in 2013.
Search is on: the Jets are expected to interview former Titans GM Jon Robinson and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, amongst others, for their general manager opening, per sources.https://t.co/gPLrXYCUWC
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 15, 2024
In the years since Riddick has become an invaluable part of ESPN’s NFL and college football coverage. He currently serves on ESPN’s No. 2 NFL announcing crew alongside Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky, and Laura Rutledge. On the college football side, Riddick and play-by-play partner Bob Wischusen were ranked No. 6 in Awful Announcing’s 2024 college football announcer rankings, as voted on by AA’s readers.
In recent years, Riddick has been linked to multiple front office vacancies, including an interview for the Steelers’ GM job that ultimately went to Omar Khan in May 2022.
Riddick is well-respected within football media and NFL circles. But he isn’t the only former NFL executive in Bristol involved with the search. Mike Tannenbaum has been working with The 33rd Team to assist the Jets in their GM search, which now includes Riddick and Robinson.
Additionally, Riddick’s now-former ESPN colleague, Robert Griffin III, whom he replaced in the broadcast booth alongside Wischusen, has publicly advocated for him to be the Jets’ next general manager.
Ironically, as sports media figures like Mike Greenberg tried to manifest a Davante Adams trade to the Jets in July, Riddick admitted he was experiencing Jets fatigue (weren’t we all?).
And after being tired of talking about them, Riddick could now find himself leading the Jets’ front office.
[ESPN]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.