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Former Jets GM John Idzik expected to take job in Jacksonville

By Will Osgood

Dec 7, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Jets general manager John Idzik watches practice before the game with the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Jets general manager John Idzik watches practice before the game with the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Jets GM John Idzik appears set to take cap consultant job with Jacksonville Jaguars.

Former New York Jets general manager John Idzik appears to have found work rather quickly, much quicker than most GM degenerates in fact.

As Adam Schefter reported, Idzik is expected to take a consultant job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union confirmed Schefter’s report, while adding that Idzik will work in the area of the salary cap and spending.

He will pair with current director of football operations Tim Walsh in that area.

Idzik’s work prior to ascending to the Jets’ front office leader was mostly in the salary cap department and remained a strength of his in his time in New York. As things stand now, Idzik’s past work has netted the current Jets regime a heaven of salary cap possibilities.

The Jets currently have a cap figure of roughly $106.27 million, according to Spotrac.com, meaning they have an estimated $48-plus million to spend in the 2015 free agency period, should they so choose.

Part of the reason for that, though, is that Idzik was more than judicious in his spending on the Jets’ roster. He was cheap, by all accounts.

The talent level left in Jersey needs a major upgrade.

The situation is rather similar in Jacksonville. The Jaguars have a total cap of under $104 million and thus just shy of $60 million with which to work in the 2015 free agency period, based on the expected salary cap marker to come in at $142 million (the figures do not seem to add up, but the cap is trickier than aligning two figures).

The Jaguars are among a handful of teams moving to more of an analytics-based approach to the draft and overall player acquisition, which will always favor spending wisely rather than handing out huge contracts to average players.

The NFL, though, is tougher than some sports as it mandates each team spend a certain amount on each season’s roster (approximately 95 percent of the total cap threshold).

The Jaguars, thus, will have to spend a large portion of their cap space this offseason. Bringing in Idzik ought to help them figure out just how to do that well, as their analytics department and scouting ought to help find the right players to fit those slots.

A top priority ought to be improving a league worst offense. Already gifted with a likely franchise quarterback, Blake Bortles, the Jaguars need to find a way to move the ball with quality talent around him.

To that end the Jaguars went heavy on skill level talent in last year’s draft, selecting Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee. They also have Denard Robinson as an exciting do-it-all player.

But Bortles and the multitude of Jaguars quarterbacks took a league high 71 sacks. The Jaguars would then be wise to throw a good chunk of money at whichever offensive lineman they feel best fits their offensive scheme and can help keep pressure at bay.

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