Jets mourn death of longtime staff member Matthew Capogrosso who was instrumental in draft preparation

The New York Jets on Friday announced the death of longtime staff member Matthew Capogrosso following a courageous two-year battle with cancer. 

A valued member of the franchise for the past 15 seasons, Capogrosso had been serving as the team’s director of football systems. He spent his previous 13 years with the franchise as a lead software developer. 

“He was an amazing person and an amazing developer,” said Tom Murphy, the Jets’ vice president of information technology, via the team’s website. “We both would arrive early at the office, and we’d have so many different conversations about the Jets, his family and life. He was a wonderful talent who will be missed.”

Capogrosso left a lasting impression on the organization that includes his work with the NFL Draft. He created a scouting system for the team that supports all facets of player evaluations. 

“April was his month, all the work that he does,” said Jets president Hymie Elhai. “The draft room runs on Titan software. Like you walk in there and everything that is open is his handiwork.”

“The system he created allows us to work seamlessly across our scouting operations,” added general manager Joe Douglas. “He was a programmer that understood football and could anticipate what made sense for the next iteration of the system before a football person could ask.”

While working for five different head coaches and four different general managers, Capogrosso assisted in the Jets drafting a number of highly productive players over the years. In the 2022 draft, Capogrosso’s last with the team, New York acquired reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner, Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall. 

Capogrosso leaves behind his wife and the couple’s twin girls. The Jets will honor him during the draft by leaving his seat in the IT room vacant.