Dyer: Maccagnan is the ‘Godfather’ to settling the Jets business

Time to start calling Mike Maccagnan”The Godfather” after a Friday that changed the trajectory of the New York Jets.

He may be quiet and even painfully shy, clearly uncomfortable in his own skin when he is the center of attention. But the new Jets general manager has a Michael Corleone penchant for sitting back then acting with clarity and decisiveness, such as he did on Friday when he sent a fifth round pick to the Chicago Bears for Brandon Marshall. Then an hour later, he finalized a deal for linebacker David Harris, a move that brings stability and continuity to the defense while ensuring that one of the most prominent players on the team this decade will likely retire a Jet.

In one day, he settled much of the business for his new Jets family, allowing him to go into free agency with some clear-cut priorities and an agenda to return this team to the postseason.

It was a big day for Maccagnan and just the start as he begins to consolidate the resources of his team. And don’t forget to kiss the ring. Or better yet, bring the cannolis.

What Maccagnan did on Friday was exactly what the doctor ordered for this ailing Jets team. He thought bold, he thought big. And he wasn’t afraid to take a risk.

After two years of John Idzik as general manager, what the Jets needed was someone willing to think with bold masterstrokes. The move for Marshall may not work, after all he is now on the wrong side of 30-years-old and has had a checkered past at his previous stops. But unlike his predecessor, Maccagnan was willing to take that risk and was willing to take a chance at making his team better. He knew what his team needed and he saw the chance to address that need with a low-risk trade.

No sitting on his war chest of salary cap space. No holding onto every precious draft pick.

Maccagnan weighed the options and looked at the upside. He saw the glaring need on his team for a dynamic wide receiver, a real playmaker who could make one of the worst passing offenses in the league click. And now with Brandon Marshall to put on billboards, Maccagnan can go out and try to entice a free agent quarterback to sign-up so that this team can finally start putting up some points for a change.

It will be an offer that Brian Hoyer likely can’t refuse.

Now, with among the most wiggle room in the league under the salary cap, Maccagnan can do some damage. He still has his top picks, including the No. 6 selection in the first round. And he has some depth on a team that just needs to be augmented by some high-end quality talent, some of which he addressed on Friday with the trade for Marshall. It’s the kind of deal that the Jets made in 2009 and then the season after as they built the most successful Jets team in the past quarter-century. Those teams had plenty of big names and lots of young talent, enough to lift the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances.

This time around, it will be Maccagnan thinking big and acting big. It might be enough to make those pesky New England Patriots to the North finally sleep with the fishes.