As shown by the New York Jets’ basketball counterparts at Madison Square Garden, rebuilding the culture of a sports franchise starts up top with the front office.
The Jets’ new regime knows it. That’s why first-year general manager Darren Mougey is still working hard to reshape the Jets’ management, even after the 2025 NFL draft.
According to Swamp247, the Jets have hired Bird Sherrill, the Florida Gators’ former director of college personnel, to an undisclosed role. Sherill’s departure from Florida’s football program was first reported by Mark Long of The Associated Press.
Sherill joined Florida in 2022 alongside new head coach Billy Napier. The Gators were coming off a disastrous 2021 season in which they went 2-6 in the conference, their worst record since 1979.
Starting from the gutter, Sherill helped Florida slowly progress over the past three seasons, climbing back up to an 8-5 overall record and a 4-4 conference record in 2024. They also picked up their first bowl victory since 2019.
At Florida, Sherill “focuse[d] on the evaluation of transfer portal and JUCO players,” per the team’s official website. Sherill was credited by Napier for his role in evaluating potential additions through the NCAA’s transfer portal.
“[I] can’t say enough about Bird [Sherill] and Chase [Clark] and the work they put in to build in the portal. We talked about the team effort in recruiting back in December, so it’s been good,” Napier said in February 2023.
Sherill has ties to the Jets’ new regime. Before joining Florida, he spent six seasons in the Detroit Lions organization (2016-21), the first two as a scouting assistant (2016-17) and the latter four as a scout (2018-21). Sherill overlapped with Jets head coach Aaron Glenn in 2021 and Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand from 2020-21.
While he was a student at Alabama, Sherill began his career as a recruiting specialist in 2013. After graduating in 2016, he jumped straight into the NFL’s scouting world. He brings a much-needed fresh perspective to a Jets front office that has struggled with drafting over the past 15 years.
Although the bulk of the Jets’ 2025 offseason moves are already complete, Mougey is wise to stay vigilant in strengthening the infrastructure of the organization. Just because the draft is in the rearview, it does not mean the Jets should stop trying to improve, whether it is with the roster, the front office, or anything in between.
