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Pep: Khusanov 'will learn' from disastrous debut
Pep Guardiola has said Abdukodir Khusanov "will learn" after the young defender's nightmare debut against Chelsea.
Khusanov gifted Chelsea a goal inside three minutes of his first City appearance following his 33.6m ($41.6m) move from Lens last week.
The 20-year-old Uzbekistan international was booked for a foul on Cole Palmer just a minute later and was eventually substituted early in the second half.
City recovered from their poor start to win 3-1 thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden to move back into the top four of the Premier League.
"Well, what I thought is not the best start, right?," Guardiola said.
"He will take a lesson. He's so young, he's come for many years. It's not the best start of course, but dealing with [Nicolas] Jackson, with Cole ]Palmer], with all these incredible players is not easy.
"He will learn. He's young, he will learn, I'm pretty sure. Take a lesson from that."
Khusanov was forced into an early debut at centre-back because of injuries to Rúben Dias and Nathan Aké. John Stones was only fit enough to be named on the bench.
Guardiola said needs Stones to be available for the crucial Champions League clash with Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Khusanov is not eligible to play in the Champions League and Dias and Ake remained sidelined, with City having to win to have a chance to progress from the league phase after a difficult campaign.
"I have to learn Russian or Uzbek to communicate with him [Khusanov]," Guardiola said.
"He doesn't speak fluently in English. In this kind of situation, there's nothing much to say. He knows he made a mistake.
"What can I say? Don't do a mistake? He doesn't want to do it, so we know that.
"I make a substitution mainly for the yellow card, not just for the mistake. I need John for Wednesday."
Manchester City earned a 3-1 comeback win over Chelsea at Etihad Stadium on Saturday to go back into the top four in the Premier League.
New signing Abdukodir Khusanov had a disastrous start to his City career, gifting Chelsea the opener in the third minute, but goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden spared him as Pep Guardiola's team bounced back from their harrowing Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
City are fourth in the league on 41 points, while Chelsea now sit sixth on 40, with Newcastle United between the two teams.
Khusanov, signed this week from French side Lens, left his header back to Ederson short, which allowed Nicolas Jackson to steal the ball and square it for Noni Madueke to put Chelsea in front.
A minute later, the Uzbekistan international was booked for a challenge on Cole Palmer, and after struggling to find his feet in English football he was eventually replaced early in the second half by John Stones.
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Fellow new signing Omar Marmoush fared better up front as he too made his debut. The Egypt striker caused plenty of trouble for the Chelsea back line in the opening 45 minutes, and his industry up front helped peg the visitors back.
City struck back with defender Gvardiol levelling three minutes before half-time as he reacted quickest to slot home a rebound.
Haaland then put the hosts in front after 68 minutes with an impudent chip that took advantage of some suspect positioning from Robert Sánchez in the Chelsea goal.
Foden's breakaway goal, which came after more good work from Haaland in the 87th minute, wrapped up the three points to give City a positive end to a chastening week ahead of their must-win Champions League clash with Club Brugge on Wednesday.
"When we had the start like we did it is difficult, but we played really well and we kept on going and kept on going," Haaland told the BBC.
"We kept pushing, and second half was the same. In the end it is what we need to do. We need to lock it in the back and keep going attacking-wise."
Pep Guardiola declined to criticise Khusanov despite the defender's rocky start.
"The players were together. That was massively important. Any player can make a mistake. The fans always support the new players. He's so young. He will learn," Guardiola said.
Kylian Mbappé said he's more concerned about Real Madrid winning the league than finishing as LaLiga's top scorer after grabbing his first hat trick for the club in their 3-0 win at Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Mbappé opened the scoring in the 30th minute -- after a smart one-two with Jude Bellingham -- before adding a second goal in the 57th minute and then converting a penalty in added time.
The result left Madrid top of the LaLiga table on 49 points, four points clear of second-placed Atlético Madrid, who drew 1-1 with Villarreal earlier on Saturday.
"I'm happy with the hat trick, but I'm more happy with the win," Mbappé told Real Madrid TV. "It was very important to win today. After Atleti's result, there was more pressure."
Mbappé has now scored 15 league goals this season -- 22 in all competitions -- and is on a red-hot streak of eight goals in his last five games.
Speaking earlier this week, teammates Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo said they wanted to ensure Mbappé ended the season as Spain's leading goal scorer, or Pichichi.
"Rodrygo and I are going to do all that we can for Mbappé to be top scorer in every competition, because that's why he came here," Vinícius said.
"That's nice, but I could say I need to help them too," Mbappé responded on Saturday after his treble. "We all want the team to win. If I'm top scorer, great -- I've done it a lot of times in my career -- but winning the league is the most important thing for me."
Coach Carlo Ancelotti called Mbappé "the best centre-forward in the world" last weekend.
"I said the first day here that I can play in all three positions in attack," Mbappé said, when asked about playing centrally.
"My adaptation is over for sure. I feel good, with my movements, and my teammates, you can see it on the pitch."
"[Mbappé] has been playing well for a while," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. "He scored three goals for the first time. He's contributing a lot. He found his rhythm a couple of months ago. It's a plus for us. He's a player who has a lot of quality."
Man City find form to boost top-four hopes, but Chelsea are unraveling
Manchester City moved back into the top four of the Premier League with an impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola's side issued the perfect response to the demoralising Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain to come from behind against Chelsea thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
City handed debuts to winter transfer signings Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush from the start -- and Khusanov endured a nightmare, gifting Chelsea the opening goal inside three minutes. The 33.6 million signing from RC Lens missed a bouncing ball and then saw his weak header back to Éderson incepted by Nicola Jackson, who squared for Noni Madueke to tap into an empty net.
Gvardiol had two good chances to equalise before taking his third opportunity just before halftime. Matheus Nunes latched onto Ilkay Gündogan's ball over the top and with goalkeeper Robert Sánchez rushing out to meet him, the ball fell into Gvardiol's path to score with a simple finish.
City were the better team in the second half and eventually got a second goal through Erling Haaland. Ederson's long ball forward was flicked on by the Norwegian, who chased it down and wrestled off Trevoh Chalobah. With Sanchez stuck in no-man's land, Haaland lifted his finish over the Chelsea goalkeeper and into the net for his 18th league goal of the season.
Foden wrapped up the result in the closing stages, collecting Haaland's clever pass to run through from the halfway line to score his sixth goal in his past six games.
Man City's rise and Chelsea's fall marks a shift in title race
Manchester City's comeback win -- staggeringly, only their sixth victory in 20 games across all competitions -- was enough to put Guardiola's side back in the top four and may signal a turning point in what has been a shockingly bad season thus far.
With UEFA's co-efficient system looking likely to award a Champions League spot to fifth place, City are suddenly right back in contention having now gone unbeaten in the league for a month. Coming just three days after their capitulation to Paris Saint-Germain, City's league position will offer a degree of comfort to Guardiola, particularly given he threw in two debutants here and watched his team fall behind.
Chelsea, by contrast, end Saturday in sixth place -- a remarkable fall from grace, which fully extinguishes any talk of Enzo Maresca's side being part of the title race.
They have now won one game in seven and their game plan was undone in troubling fashion. The high defensive line, which initially caused City problems, ended up being badly exposed as Madueke allowed Gvardiol to run in behind one too many times to equalise. Haaland and Foden later also beat Chelsea's offside trap too easily to find the scoresheet.
In truth, the Blues' response after falling behind was almost nonexistent -- an attitude made all the more surprising given this result could represent an important swing in the race for Europe. -- James Olley
Chelsea's wait for a statement win drags on
One curious quirk of Chelsea's season is that they have taken more points on the road (21) than at home (19) -- yet they are without a statement away win under Maresca, who took over the club this season.
They were beaten at Liverpool in October -- somewhat unfortunately -- before losing at Newcastle in the EFL Cup and drawing at Manchester United. December's 4-3 victory at Tottenham was arguably their most significant success outside of Stamford Bridge given they came from 2-0 down and they had City on the back foot early on, seemingly ready to capitalise on their current fragility.
And yet the opportunity slipped through their grasp. They were curiously passive after the opening half-an-hour or so, allowing City to recover their poise and turn the game around.
Something needs to change soon for Maresca. Chelsea's next four away games are at Brighton twice -- once in the FA Cup fourth round -- Aston Villa and then Arsenal. Their self-belief drained away to a troubling extent and more resistance is needed to ensure their season does not unravel further. -- Olley
Rough start for Man City's January signing Khusanov
Man City's comeback win may render it more of a footnote, but it was a disastrous start for Khusanov. Thrown straight into the centre of defence after just three training sessions with his new teammates, the 20-year-old was all over the place in the opening five minutes.
With only his third touch, he sold Ederson short with a routine header back and allowed Jackson to set up Madueke. Immediately afterwards he misplaced a pass into midfield and was booked for hacking down Cole Palmer as he tried to make amends.
There were points during the opening exchanges when it looked like his teammates were reluctant to give him the ball. He eventually settled himself down with a couple of simple passes -- each of which were enthusiastically cheered by the City fans in an attempt to make the youngster feel better.
Guardiola will not have wanted to chuck Khusanov in at the deep end after just 18 months in Belarus and 31 appearances for RC Lens, but he will feel that he had no choice. Rúben Dias and Nathan Aké are both injured and John Stones, who was on the bench but not fully fit, is needed against Club Brugge next week in the Champions League, a competition Khusanov is not eligible to play in.
Khusanov was eventually replaced by Stones after just 53 minutes. He got a word of encouragement from Stones on his way off and a hug and a pat on the back from Guardiola. -- Rob Dawson
Marmoush looks poised to boost Man City
The game will be remembered for Khusanov's debut rather than Marmoush's, but the 63m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt looked sharp.
He had a goal ruled out in the first half when Gundogan's shot came back off Sanchez. He should have left the finish to Bernardo Silva, who was onside, but he can't be criticised too heavily for his desperation to score. It was the same in the second half when he opted to shoot instead of sending Foden clear through and got an earful from the England midfielder.
Playing on the left of a front three is probably not his favourite position, but he still did enough to show that he can add something to this City team. He was confident enough to take on Reece James and was constantly looking to stretch Chelsea's defence with runs in behind.
With Haaland a certain starter and Kevin De Bruyne and Foden first-choice to play in the attacking midfield positions, it might take a while for Marmoush to find out where he fits in. But on his debut he looked quick, skilful and hungry for goals which can only be good news for Guardiola.
After being substituted in the second half, the cameras caught Marmoush chatting to Jack Grealish and wearing a big smile. He certainly enjoyed himself more than Khusanov. -- Dawson
Pressure mounts on goalkeeper Sanchez
Haaland took his winning goal brilliantly, but the opportunity was made far easier by another moment of indecision from Sanchez in goal.
Although Haaland looked like he had the beating of Chalobah as he chased his own flick-on, the Norwegian striker was still a long way from goal when Sanchez inexplicably decided to rush off his line. Quickly realising he would never make up the ground to Haaland, he checked back and left himself stranded off his goal line as City's No. 9 cut back on his left foot and lifted a fine finish into the net.
It is the second bad error in a week after a mistake against Wolves and places Sanchez under further scrutiny, especially in the context of Maresca's pre-match comments where he said the 27-year-old was "getting better, but still far, far, far from where I want him to be."
Maresca also refused to confirm whether Sanchez would be his No. 1 next season. With summer signing Filip Jorgensen impressing in the Conference League, there is now a growing debate about whether Sanchez should be in goal next week. -- Olley
Noman Ali paying no heed to pitch criticism as second Test becomes 'a one-innings match'
Speaking after play on Saturday, Noman said "such a match was bound to happen", given the extreme conditions that were on offer.
"We will try our best [to bowl West Indies out quickly] because it is [now] a one-innings match," Noman said after Pakistan fell nine runs short of the visitors' total. "In the first innings, for their last-wicket partnership, the runs that we gave away were a little extra. So we will try not to give such runs again."
Noman said this is not something on the team's mind, since it faced criticism even when Tests went all the way. "Even when we used to have a full five-day match before, fans criticised us a lot," he said. "We were criticised saying the results are not coming. [But] now the results are coming. If the results are coming in two or three days, then I think [it is fine]. The results have been positive so far, and we'll try that this match also has a positive result."
Pakistan had West Indies at 54 for 8, before the tailenders pushed them to 163. In the first innings of the first Test, West Indies had recovered from 66 for 8 to 137. Noman said Pakistan "made some mistakes", which they will try to avoid in the second gig.
Franklin: Both batting orders finding it difficult
"I don't think it's just the West Indies top order; I think both batting orders are finding it very difficult on this pitch," Franklin said. "There's a lot of spin, [and] a lot of bounce - sometimes it's inconsistent as well. So when you go out there as a batter, I think the first 20-30 balls are very challenging to adapt to the wicket. I think you've seen batters that can get through the initial 20-30 balls and get 15-20 runs under their belts in their innings, the game all of a sudden looks a bit more comfortable from a batting point of view."
"We've seen that a bit from [Mohammad] Rizwan over both Test matches, we've seen that a little bit from Saud Shakeel, [and] we've seen it from some of our bottom-order batters being able to do that. We saw that from Alick Athanaze in the first Test."
Franklin is looking to set small targets for his batters, as they go into their second innings with a slender lead. He said it would be "very competitive" if West Indies end up posting a score in the "high hundreds, 200, [or] 200-plus". Franklin just wanted his batters "to look at small milestones".
"You know 30, 40-run partnerships can be quite significant in these Test matches here in Multan," Franklin said. "We saw that in the first Test, we're seeing that today. I think if we reflect over the three-and-a-bit days of this Test series so far, there's only been one huge difference - and that was a 100-run [141] partnership on day one of Test one. Apart from that, it's been very even-stevens between both sides."
BCB puts its constitution reform committee on ice
The BCB has put its constitution reform committee on ice in the face of an ongoing boycott by the Dhaka clubs. The city's second-tier competition, the Dhaka First Division Cricket League, has been suspended since January 14 with the clubs refusing to play.
Their protests stem from reports that the BCB's constitution reform committee submitted a resolution to reduce the number of BCB directors nominated by the Dhaka league from 12 to four. There has been no formal announcement, by the BCB or the committee in question, of such a move. It would require a change in the BCB's constitution to do this, and it would need to be approved at the board's annual general meeting.
Either way, the BCB announced on Saturday that it is going to take a look at the committee's scope of work and terms of reference.
"The board decided to postpone the constitution review committee's activities," BCB director Mahbubul Anam said. "This committee could be changed or expanded at a later time. The rest of the activities will take place only after their scope of work and terms of reference are prepared. The terms of reference will be on how they will make the necessary changes to the constitution, how they will do it by involving stakeholders."
Anam said that the reports of the committee submitting any resolution were unsubstantiated. "They never submitted any proposed changes to the board president or anyone in the board. We have also heard that they didn't submit anything to the National Sports Council. Many of the changes spoken about isn't also correct.
However, he said, the BCB wants the whole process to be more transparent. "The BCB directors feel that the process has to be clearer. There's no secrecy about the constitution. It is a public information. We want to suspend their activities to stop such discussions. The board feels that stakeholders must be involved so we need change and expansion."
The BCB also announced the names of the board directors who will lead 21 out of its 23 standing committees.
Faruque himself has been named chair of the board's marketing committee. Akram Khan, Mahbubul Anam and Fahim Sinha have also got roles as chair of various committees.
The BCB has instructed the various newly appointed chairs to form full committees for each of their posts over the next two weeks.
The heads of the BCB's working committee and security committee will be named later.
Paarl Royals in playoffs courtesy dominant spin unit, consistent home show
"Keeping things simple is a big part of doing well here. In the past, we've had quite explosive players. Sometimes they come off, sometimes they don't. This season, there's been a lot more consistency, and playing well at home contributes to that."
The Boland, 50 kms inland from Cape Town, is hot and dry in peak summer, and the surfaces get more difficult for run-scoring as the season grows long. Saturday's pitch, which was slow and low, was a perfect example of that. Fortuin has spent his early domestic career here and has played five years of T20 franchise cricket for teams based in Paarl: two years with Paarl Rocks in the now-defunct Mzansi Super League, and three in the SA20. He has adapted his game for exactly these conditions, particularly with the new ball.
Fortuin is often used in the powerplay to put the pressure on upfront and usually also make a few crucial incisions. Across the three seasons of SA20, Fortuin's economy rate of 6.08 in the powerplay is the best among bowlers who have delivered at least 15 overs in that phase. His 20 wickets in the same period is the joint most with Marco Jansen. It includes the likes of Quinton de Kock, Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton (all twice); Devon Conway, Faf du Plessis, Kyle Mayers and Kusal Mendis; and on Saturday, the destructive Afghan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
In another country, Fortuin's record and reputation might see him walk straight into the national squad. But the presence of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi means he plays infrequently for South Africa, and has also missed out on the Champions Trophy squad. Fortuin said the snub is "not something I can comment on right now" as he focuses on SA20 success, where Royals have set the pace, particularly with their spinners.
"Looking at their team, we were trying to find the seamers when we saw the line-up," Rilee Rossouw, Capitals' captain, said. "It's definitely something different. It's something that we are not so accustomed to, especially here in South Africa. Credit also has to go to their bowlers and how they went about their business."
That statement might apply to the tournament as a whole. Royals have only lost one game so far - to their neighbours MI Cape Town - and have won all four at home. This is the third successive season that Royals have made it to the knockout stage, but have yet to make a final. And they will be wary of dropping form at the business end, as they have done in the past.
In 2023, they won five of their first eight matches, and then lost two of the last three. Last year, after only losing only one of their first six matches, they finished on a five-match losing streak, including defeat in the knockouts.
"So we won't count our chickens too early," Fortuin said. "The past two seasons, we've had good starts and then sort of fallen away towards the back end. So we'll take it game by game."
There, Royals coach Trevor Penney expects his seam attack, and specifically Ngidi, who has not played for the last three matches, to step up.
"We've got the balance. We've got the seamers that are ready to jump in," Penney said. "With Lungi, we know big fast bowlers like him, they sometimes needed a couple of weeks to get back into that full flow and the rhythm. It's a tough thing for fast bowlers. He was out [with a groin injury] for like eight weeks. So he's on a programme where he's almost back now. So we played him in the first few games so he could get some game time. And I'm sure when we go to the Highveld, he's going to be straight back in."
Before that, Royals will sign off from Paarl with a match against Durban's Super Giants on Monday in a goodbye to a crowd that has ridden the wave of their winning streak.
"They're very passionate. The nice thing is that they're actually quite knowledgeable as well, so they appreciate small bits of cricket here and there," Fortuin said. "You certainly hear it when you're not doing well, which is a bit of extra motivation as well. The vibe here is incredible. And in the future, I do hope that we can play games here at the back end of the tournament. It would be quite cool to eventually have a home final if something like that happens."
With a capacity of 10,000, Boland Park is the smallest of the SA20 venues, and has yet to host a playoff game.
Stats inputs from Sampath Bandarupalli
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's correspondent for South Africa and women's cricket
Mooney calls for Australia to put on a show in Ashes Test
Mooney, who was masterful in the third T20I with an unbeaten 94 off 63 balls, conceded there was an element of disappointment in the fact the Test wasn't a live contest in terms of the Ashes, but on the flip side hoped that it would allow the team to play with freedom.
"It's going to be awesome," Mooney said. "We obviously don't get to pull on the baggy green too often. The pink ball behaves a little bit differently so that'll create some challenges. I'm just really looking forward to the spectacle of the game to be honest.
"We're pumped that we're 12-0 up. It certainly would have been nice if we played the test match while the series was still on the line, maybe earlier in the series, but that wasn't to be. I think on an individual front and as a group it's come at a great time for us to basically just show off our skills and really enjoy playing the four-day game."
"I take pride in the fact that I can offer the coaching staff and selection panel different options," Mooney said. "Whether it's batting order or behind the stumps or in the field. It'll be a nice challenge for me wicketkeeping and batting in that middle order role, so looking forward to what that's going to present and hopefully I'm just warming Midge's spot for a little while."
Should Healy be fit it leaves Australia with an interesting selection call to make given she has moved down the order in Test cricket in recent years. She would likely have to slot back in at the top alongside Phoebe Litchfield unless the selectors were also able to find room for Georgia Voll.
There is one vacancy from when Australia last played a Test, against South Africa at the WACA, with Sophie Molineux out injured. Georgia Wareham could come into the side to partner fellow legspinner Alana King, although the pink-ball factor may bring Megan Schutt into contention as another seamer. Wareham has only played one previous Test, against India in 2021.
Ash Gardner is expected to be fit after a calf injury kept her out of the T20I series.
Source: Lions promote LBs coach Sheppard to DC
DETROIT -- The Lions didn't have to look far to find their new defensive coordinator.
Detroit promoted former linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard to replace Aaron Glenn in the vacant coaching role, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Saturday, confirming an NFL.com report.
After a record-breaking 15-win season in Detroit, Glenn and former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson accepted head coaching positions with the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, respectively.
Sheppard joined the Lions' staff as an outside linebackers coach at the beginning of coach Dan Campbell's tenure in Detroit in 2021. For the past three seasons, he coached the entire linebackers group and has a knack for developing young talent.
Sheppard, 37, spent eight seasons in the NFL from 2011 to 2018 playing for Buffalo, Indianapolis, Miami, the New York Giants and Detroit. He was a third-round pick (68th overall) in the 2011 NFL draft by the Bills.
After losing in the NFC divisional round to Washington as the No. 1 seed, Campbell said he would evaluate internal and outside candidates to help fill the coaching vacancies before he chose Sheppard as his defensive coordinator.
"I think we've got guys on staff that I think are more than qualified and would be outstanding in those roles, but that does not mean that I'm not looking outside either," Campbell said Jan. 20. "So, I want what I believe is going to be as close to what we have been as possible, and we don't lose what we're about and our identity, and like what you just asked, we're going to stay true to who we are, and if you're somebody that doesn't feel comfortable with that, then no, I don't -- this isn't the job for you."
Jets complete overhaul, turn to Mougey as new GM
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Completing their leadership overhaul, the New York Jets hired Darren Mougey as their general manager Saturday.
Mougey, a longtime Denver Broncos scout and executive who became their assistant GM in 2022, will team with newly hired coach Aaron Glenn -- a brain trust with no previous experience in their new positions. It's a bold pairing by the Jets, who are trying to reboot after a turmoil filled season and a 14-year playoff drought.
At 39, Mougey is the third-youngest GM in the NFL and two years younger than quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose future with the Jets will be determined in the coming weeks. Mougey is expected to have a traditional GM role, meaning he has final say on personnel decisions and control of the 53-man roster. Glenn, who was involved in the hiring, will have significant input.
"Darren is a trusted NFL executive who has experience working with an impressive collection of football leaders," Jets chairman Woody Johnson said in a news release. "He is a proven talent evaluator who impressed us with his vision for this team. His partnership with Coach Glenn will revitalize this organization. I am proud of the thorough search we undertook and that it led us to the two best individuals to lead our football team going forward."
Mougey replaces Joe Douglas, who was fired Nov. 19 after five-plus seasons on the job. Under Douglas' stewardship, the Jets were 30-64. Phil Savage served as the interim GM.
Mougey called his new job "one of the great honors and privileges of my life."
"I could not be more excited to work alongside Coach Glenn to build a championship team that will make Jets fans proud," he said in the release.
The Jets took an unconventional route by hiring their coach before the GM. A dual announcement was expected Wednesday, when Glenn's deal was finalized, but things changed.
Washington Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark appeared to be the front-runner because he was the first candidate to receive a second interview. He and Glenn seemed to be a natural fit, considering they worked with the Detroit Lions from 2021 to 2023. Both interviewed Tuesday at the team facility, but the Jets met again with Mougey and Cincinnati Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown.
Mougey and Glenn, 52, have no previous working relationship, only an indirect connection -- Broncos coach Sean Payton. Glenn was on Payton's New Orleans Saints coaching staff, and they have remained close. Glenn participated in in-person interviews with Mougey and Brown on Thursday at the Jets' facility.
The Jets interviewed 15 candidates, including five with previous GM experience.
Ironically, one of their former GMs -- Mike Tannenbaum -- was involved in the search. Tannenbaum founded The 33rd Team, a media and technology company that was retained by the Jets to compile and vet candidates. Former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman also assisted. Spielman received a positive report about Mougey from his former assistant GM in Minnesota, George Paton, the Broncos' current GM.
Tannenbaum, now an ESPN analyst, was 36 when the Jets hired him in 2006. Mougey is their youngest GM since. The only current GMs younger than Mougey are the Cleveland Browns' Andrew Berry (37) and the Chicago Bears' Ryan Poles (39), according to ESPN Research.
Mougey played college football at San Diego State. He began as a quarterback, playing behind current Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, but was switched to wide receiver. He had brief stops with the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals, but he never made a regular-season roster.
Mougey got into scouting with the Broncos, working his way up from a scouting intern (2012). He was hired by Broncos legend John Elway and went from area scout (2015 to 2019) to assistant director of college scouting (2020) to director of player personnel (2021) to his most recent role as the assistant GM.
Mougey worked for three ownership groups and two general managers, experiencing the high of a Super Bowl championship after the 2015 season and the low of an eight-year playoff drought that ended this season under the Payton rebuild.
Mougey worked alongside Paton, who in 2022 made the ill-fated Russell Wilson trade -- regarded as one of the worst in recent NFL history. The Broncos surrendered a huge package of draft picks, including two first-rounders, for the fading star, who lasted only two seasons in Denver and left a massive cap hit.
On the positive side, Mougey was part of a front office that has drafted well in recent years. From 2021 to 2023, it selected four players on the current All-Pro team -- cornerback Pat Surtain II, guard Quinn Meinerz, kick returner Marvin Mims Jr. and edge rusher Nik Bonitto (second team). Quarterback Bo Nix, Denver's 2024 first-round pick, enjoyed a promising rookie year.
Mougey walks into a massive job, one that will require a culture overhaul. The Jets haven't produced a winning season since 2015, and their playoff slump is the longest in North American sports. Since 2015, they've gone through four coaches -- Todd Bowles, Adam Gase, Robert Saleh and interim Jeff Ulbrich, who replaced the fired Saleh on Oct. 8.
There are some building blocks on the roster, but Brown must decide on Rodgers and formulate a long-term plan at quarterback. Another pressing issue is the future of wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who is eligible for a contract extension and could request a trade.
The Jets own the No. 7 pick in the draft and have eight total picks, but they have only $25 million in cap room, according to Roster Management System. They have 23 unrestricted free agents, including six starters. It will take some creative cap management to improve the roster under these restrictions.
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