The New York Jets have taken the next step in their general manager search, asking teams for permission to interview candidates. Among the lists of requests is Chicago Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly and Philadelphia Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Douglas has been viewed as one of the favorites since the Jets fired Mike Maccagnan last Wednesday, but there are questions if he is willing to leave his job with the Eagles. Current Jets coach Adam Gase worked with Douglas when the two were together with the Bears in 2015. Douglas was hired by the Eagles in 2016 and has been in the city of brotherly love since. Kelly worked with Gase with the Denver Broncos and the Bears.

It was clear that Maccagnan and Gase didn't work well together, so it makes sense that the Jets are going after someone that Gase has already worked with.

Gase said earlier in the week that he was going to be involved in the general manager hiring process, but owner Christopher Johnson would be the guy who gets the final say.

“Really, it's going to be Christopher Johnson's decision,” Gase said via Jets.com. “We're doing our part. There's a group of us working on this … I think there's a mold of what some teams are looking for in a GM. I think he's looking for something a little bit different, and we're trying to do a good job of putting everything on paper and then talking through everything.”

It's unclear how long the Jets plan on taking to decide on the next general manager, but it looks like the process could be heating up here in the next few days.