More than a year ago, Greg Nejmeh parted ways with the New York Jets after 16 years with the organization. His departure was one of the first moves the organization made when hiring general manager Darren Mougey.

Nejmeh scouted young talent for the Jets, with an eye towards free agency and the NFL draft — the very same vehicle that features mock draft after mock draft.

It’s that experience that has made the former Co-Director of Player Personnel an expert on why the Jets haven’t been able to right the ship, as well as his latest role that focuses more on the collegiate game.

The long-time NFL executive joined Accelerate Sports Ventures this offseason, where he serves as the company’s president. Accelerate Sports is a Wyckoff-based NIL firm focused on supporting the modernization and future of college sports.

His work in the professional world helps him believe he can step in and do good work right away.

“There’s a lot of crossover now between the NFL and college, and so I was able to really kind of focus and dial in on how we can help colleges in a lot of ways,” Nejmeh told Jets X-Factor.

Accelerate’s vision

Accelerate was created to assist college programs with their player scouting and NIL directives. Much like a front office in the NFL, Accelerate believes it can help programs use money management to help colleges reach their full potential.

The advisory firm already has partnerships with top programs such as Penn State and Boston College, with other universities interested in future deals. The more successful they are with their first few programs, the more popular they can become in the future.

“I want this thing to grow in scale and really be a service that, you know, multiple schools can use,” he said. “We can develop almost our own type of front office staff eventually, and I think we’re certainly moving in that direction.”

Nejmeh’s time away from the NFL has helped with that process. Instead of finding another NFL home, following his time with the Jets, the league executive hit the ground running with Accelerate.

“I took the time during that period to not rush into anything and really be very thoughtful about it,” he said when discussing his roles over the last year after leaving New York. “I looked at it as an opportunity to really learn, grow, and develop in many ways.”

His time with the Jets

Nejmeh survived a lot with the Jets. When he first joined the team, New York was a regular in the conference championship game with Rex Ryan’s bravado leading the way.

Following that two-year run, though, Gang Green has suffered through hard times. They currently hold the longest playoff drought in North American sports, and haven’t posted a winning season in the last 10 years.

While there has been plenty of finger-pointing with members of the organization for those struggles, Nejmeh wasn’t one of them. It’s why he was able to survive several regime changes among coaches and front-office members.

“I just tried to let my work speak for itself,” Nejmeh said. “I hope that the people coming in would understand that I’d be detailed, I’d be thorough, I’d be a great teammate to everyone that we worked with, and that they could trust me.”

Nejmeh was originally hired by Mike Tannenbaum, who saw his penchant for scouting college players at a high level. He was also instrumental in bringing players that some teams had overlooked to the forefront, including Quincy Williams, John Franklin-Myers, and Braxton Berrios.

Reflection and the Jets’ struggles

Nejmeh’s work also helped him stay on the team despite the changes in plans every few years.

“I’m forever grateful to them, really, the whole Jets organization; to be honest with you, the Chairman, you know Mr. Johnson … they stood by me,” Nejmeh confessed. “I learned so much there that I can now apply. I wish we certainly won more games, but there are still a lot of really good things that we did, and I just have a ton of gratitude for that whole building.”

So why did the Jets struggle so much with Nejmeh playing a pivotal role in the front office? Why has the franchise’s big ship failed to turn in the successful direction — the way head coach Aaron Glenn once described it?

To him, it has less to do with the organization’s process and more to do with moves simply not working out, which led to plans falling flat.

“I feel like the people there, their intentions are always in the right place,” he said. “I think from the top down, I couldn’t think of a time where I think we didn’t try to do the right thing, whether it worked out or not.”

As Accelerate’s president, Nejmeh is responsible for a different approach to personnel decisions. For him specifically, the pressure of the NFL is replaced by the scouting and NIL push of the college game.

While his time with the New York Jets didn’t end with a winning season, he’s still appreciative of the time he had. Those are certainly lessons Greg Nejmeh expects to use with Accelerate.