When things go wrong for NFL teams, head coaches are the ones who take the first bullet. Not only are they closer to the on-field action and have a greater presence among the fans, but they are easier to replace and operate without than their front-office counterparts.Meanwhile, general managers and personnel men exchange high profiles (and larger salaries) for job security. The long-term nature of the position leaves them well protected behind a wall of blame and are generally fired as a last resort.For the New York Jets, however, these NFL norms of firing order are irrelevant. Their problems start up top with general manager John Idzik, and they have no reason to keep their drowning general manager on board simply because it is the "normal" way to go about doing business.If the Jets fire Rex Ryan, they would be wrong not to show Idzik the same door.Ryan has made his share of mistakes, and it may indeed be time for the Jets to head in a new direction with their head coach for the first time in six years. Ryan's case, however, is a separate issue from the personnel mistakes that have doomed him from the beginning. Just about every issue that has prevented the Jets from winning more than one of eight games can be traced back to a poor decision Idzik has made over the past two years.It is not that Idzik's team is simply more underwhelming than anyone could have expectedthere is real evidence in Idzik's actions (and lack of action) over the past year that indicate that he may not be worthy of his job title after all.Idzik first started to show signs of incompetency in free agency. Free of the Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes contracts, Idzik had an embarrassing amount of cap room to work with. Nonetheless, the Jets missed out on top free agents one after another.Refusing to bend to the market to sign quality free agents, the Jets now find themselves trotting out Darrin Walls as their top cornerback. For several weeks this season, Greg Salas and Jeremy Kerley were the top receiving targets on the field.Idzki's intentions were in the right place, as he was merely trying to avoid handcuffing his team to a bad contract on an underperforming player. However, refusing to open up the checkbook for players at need positions does not excuse the on-field product. Idzik took his "my way or the highway" approach to free agency to the extreme, and it cost the team on the field.Idzik left his coaching staff out to dry, which cranked the engine of disenchantment within the franchise about their new, stubborn general manager.As crippling as they were, Idzik's mistakes in free agency would not doom the Jets in the long term. After all, they did avoid dumping money into bad players.Where Idzik put his job performance into the "fireable" realm is with his management in the draft.Just two years into the job, many of Idzik's draftees deserve more time before they can be stamped with the dreaded "bust" label, but the early returns are beyond discouraging.Despite being armed with a bevy of extra picks from the Darrelle Revis trade and compensatory system, the Jets have yielded next to nothing from either draft class. Outside of Sheldon Richardson, the Jets have one current starter on the team, first-round safety Calvin Pryorwho is hardly living up to expectations in his rookie season:What is most frightening about Idzik's drafts is not necessarily the current state of his class, but the reasoning behind some of the picks he has made.In one of the deepest receiver drafts in recent memory, Idzik waited until the fourth round to dive into this position. The first receiver Idzik took in the draft was 5'9" Jalen Saunders, who tipped the scales at 160 pounds in Timberland boots.It did not take long for the Jets to realize their massive mistake in drafting Saunders, as he was released before October. After spending some time on the Arizona Cardinalspractice squad, Saunders' NFL career appears to be over before it started.Meanwhile, Donte Moncrief and Martavis Bryanttwo receivers who were on the board when the Jets reached for Saundersare borderline starters for their respective teams already.If every general manager was punished for whiffing on third-day picks, there would not be a GM left on the planet. However, Idzik completely ignored Saunders' substandard NFL measurables selecting him as early as he didan early sign that Idzik may not be qualified to make such decisions.What was also alarming about Idzik's 2014 draft was the size of his class. Trades and compensatory selections left the Jets with a dozen picks in 2014. Simple roster math would have shown that there was no feasible way to squeeze even two-thirds of the class without taking away other quality players to make room.It was assumed that Idzik would exchange quantity for quality by trading up, but once again, Idzik was too stubborn to pull the trigger:Predictably enough, the Jets wound up wasting a good chunk of their Saturday draft, with most of them either getting cut or ending up on other rosters:The decision to hire Idzik was a curious one from the start.The Jets were the only team to interview Idzik for a general manager position. Idzik was far from their first choice, as he was not even considered until after the Jets interviewed several other candidates, including Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell.Now that he has seen his mistakes play out in live action, Idzik appears remorseful for his decisions. Every member of the organization has had a hand in this 1-7 start, but Idzik knows that he is the reason the Jets are not an NFL-caliber team.Under most circumstances, general managers would get a chance to correct their mistakes, learning on the job and fixing their errors with time. The problem for Idzik is he has yet to prove that he is capable of performing the basics of the job, never mind turning this dumpster fire around in a reasonable amount of time.Yes, there is a cost that comes with firing a general manager after just two seasons. Constant change is a poor business model in the NFL, and no ownerespecially Woody Johnsonwants to be known as being impatient and irrational.However, Johnson needs to decide what is more important: his image or the product his team put on the field for paying customers. Moving on from Idzik sooner than later would at least show that his intentions are in the right place.Follow @Ryan_Alfieri
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