The New York Jets haven’t had a stable general manager in ages.

It’s one of the main reasons why the organization has the longest active playoff drought among all teams in North America’s four major sports at 15 seasons.

The Jets’ last two general managers, Joe Douglas and Mike Maccagnan, each had ample time to see their visions through. Douglas had five offseasons, whilst Maccagnan had four.

Neither, though, was up to snuff, finishing their tenures with a combined record of 56-108.

With the bulk of his second offseason in the books, there are legitimate reasons to believe that current Jets GM Darren Mougey is not the next Douglas or Maccagnan, but instead New York’s version of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Howie Roseman.

Owning just three wins to his name, Mougey hasn’t yet proven to be anywhere close to Roseman. Still, one aspect of his process is reminiscent of the Eagles’ respected GM, and it’s also far different than the approaches taken by Douglas and Maccagnan.

The appealing part of Mougey’s process

Combined, Maccagnan and Douglas extended just seven players to multi-year contracts in their tenures with the Jets.

Yes, seven players in nine combined offseasons.

Maccagnan’s three extensions were given to offensive lineman Brian Winters, wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson. As for Douglas, he extended the contracts of cornerback Michael Carter II, defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, and long snapper Thomas Hennessy.

Mougey is already approaching that mark, extending six players to multi-year deals since taking the job as the Jets’ GM: linebacker Jamien Sherwood, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, cornerback Sauce Gardner, center Josh Myers, tight end Jeremy Ruckert, and running back Breece Hall.

He also has the opportunity to extend the contract of a seventh player, offensive lineman Joe Tippmann, before the 2026 season starts.

Mougey is doing something that wise organizations do: rewarding their young contributors and keeping them happy while getting ahead of the market.

A perfect example of the latter is Mougey’s most recent move, locking up Hall to a three-year, $43.5 million deal. He capitalized before the price would have gotten too high following extensions from other star RBs around the league, such as Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and De’Von Achane.

Following Hall’s deal, the Jets quickly saw the benefits of setting the market, evidenced by Achane’s $64 million extension with Miami a few days later. This is the type of forward-thinking move the organization has rarely made.

Then, you can point to the extensions of players like Myers and Ruckert, both of whom aren’t franchise-changing players or high-end pieces. They each entered the season with set expectations and outperformed those.

Myers was forced to start all 17 games at center after a season-ending injury to Alijah Vera-Tucker. He wasn’t the best center in the league, but he was a serviceable placeholder. Ruckert’s pass-catching and blocking improved drastically.

Rewarding those types of players is just as important as extending young talent like Hall and Wilson. It sets the precedent that if players thrive in their roles, they will be rewarded.

Yes, Mougey’s squad went 3-14 during his first regular season on the job.

However, he has done tremendous work this offseason in many aspects. Among those positive signs, nothing sets him apart from his predecessors more than his proactive approach to extensions.

Until the wins come, he is no different than Douglas and Maccagnan in that regard, but his proactiveness and willingness to reward in-house talent are certainly promising components of his work thus far.

Winning is the next step of Mougey’s plan. If he is unable to accomplish that, all of this won’t matter. The main point, though, is that his offseason process should give fans hope that the victories are coming.