Jets Mourn the Loss of Matthew Capogrosso

Matthew Capogrosso lived for this time of year. April is NFL Draft month as hope springs eternal for the Jets and teams across the league. Capogrosso, the Jets’ director of football systems, had been a titan behind the scenes for 15 years.

“Matthew was an intricate part of our organization,” said Jets CEO Woody Johnson. “He was a brilliant programmer but an even better person who loved the Jets and played an essential role in our draft operations every year. A key member of our best-in-class IT department, Matthew embodied everything you want in a teammate and a friend.”

While “Cappy” won’t be at One Jets Drive on draft weekend, his valued work and his passionate spirit will continue to help the Jets take another step. On Friday afternoon, Capogrosso died after a two-year battle with cancer.

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

A Jet since 2008, Capogrosso first served as a lead software developer for 13 years before transitioning to director of football systems.

“He was an amazing person and an amazing developer,” said Tom Murphy, the team’s vice president of information technology. “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.”

GM Joe Douglas added: “The system he created allows us to work seamlessly across our scouting operations. 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.”

Managing all football systems and data, Capogrosso created and maintained the Jets’ scouting system that supports all aspects of player evaluations.

“Back in the beginning, Titan was two separate systems — college and pro — and they really didn’t talk,” said Chris Miller, an application manager who served…