NFL

Inside the crazed, 7-day spending spree that transformed the Jets

One week; seven days; 168 hours; 10,080 minutes.

That’s how much time it took the Jets to transform from 4-12 laughingstock to legitimate playoff contender. General manager Mike Maccagnan and his staff performed this rapid-fire makeover in March, acquiring seven players over seven days who have played big roles in the team’s 3-1 start.

The additions of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buster Skrine, Antonio Cromartie, Marcus Gilchrist and James Carpenter reshaped the Jets. Each joined the team within days of each other.

Through conversations with people inside and outside the organization, The Post has recreated that week, which brought a seismic shift to the Jets. The people were promised they would not be quoted so they could speak freely about what happened.

Secondary is primary

Shortly after Maccagnan and head coach Todd Bowles were hired in January, they — along with coaches, front-office members and scouts — met to discuss the roster.

You did not have to be Vince Lombardi to diagnose the biggest hole on the 2014 Jets. The secondary was awful, particularly at cornerback.

Maccagnan began watching film of prospective free agents with director of player personnel Brian Heimerdinger, director of pro scouting Matt Bazirgan, pro personnel scout Greg Nejmeh and pro personnel director Brendan Prophett, who has since been fired by the team.

The group graded players and formed a free-agent board, ranking options. They also brought in execs Jackie Davidson and Rod Graves, who handled contracts to get a ballpark number on potential costs. The Jets had more than $50 million in salary cap space and had to spend most of it to comply with NFL rules. Still, they did not want to grossly overpay.

Mike MaccagnanBill Kostroun

As the Jets studied the talent available, they realized this was a deep cornerback class. The wild card was Darrelle Revis, for whom the Patriots had a 2015 option. People inside the Jets were skeptical the Patriots would let Revis become a free agent, figuring they would reach a long-term deal before hitting the market.

The Jets had to be ultra-careful with Revis. The NFL already was investigating them for comments owner Woody Johnson made about wanting Revis back. An NFL investigator actually visited the Jets building two days before free agency opened to make sure the Jets were following the rules regarding Revis.

Maccagnan hoped to land three cornerbacks. That way, young players such as Dee Milliner, Dexter McDougle and Marcus Williams would get pushed down the depth chart and be given more time to develop.

With Revis an uncertainty to even hit the market, Maccagnan did not want to wait. He remembered 2011 when teams waited on Nnamdi Asomugha and thus missed out on the next tier of cornerbacks.

The player the Jets loved was Buster Skrine of the Browns. Maccagnan’s goal was to land him before the rest of the market shifted to him.

The Jets targeted Skrine with the Patriots in mind. New England never beats teams deep, instead killing opponents with slot receivers on short routes. The Jets knew they needed a slot corner who could battle Julian Edelman or Danny Amendola. They felt Skrine was the guy. The only knock on Skrine was he was penalty prone, but the Jets thought they could coach that out of him.

There were four teams fighting for Skrine, but the Jets locked him up with a four-year, $25 million deal that guaranteed his first two years at $13 million. Skrine agreed to terms just after free agency launched at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10.

Buster SkrineBill Kostroun

At the same time, the Jets called the NFL office to find out if Revis was officially a free agent. He was. The Patriots declined to pick up his option.

Davidson, who had negotiated Revis’ 2010 deal with the Jets and knew his agents well, called the Revis camp to officially say the Jets wanted to bring him back.

For four hours Davidson went back and forth between negotiating with Revis’ camp and returning to update the rest of the front office, who were working on other deals.

A little after 8 p.m., Revis agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract with $39 million guaranteed to return to the Jets.

The NFL took notice. The Jets were spending money and going for it.

The Marshall Plan

Five days earlier, on March 5, Maccagnan was standing on the side of a field at Clemson University talking to Bears GM Ryan Pace. It had been known for days the Bears were shopping Marshall. Now, Maccagnan tried to find out how much it would cost.

There were other suitors, and the Bears had to move Marshall before the league year opened or they would have to guarantee his 2015 salary. The Jets put a sixth-round pick value on the trade. The problem was their sixth-round pick would be going to Seattle as part of the Percy Harvin trade once they cut Harvin and his $10.5 million cap figure. There had been discussion of re-signing Harvin at a lower rate, but once Marshall became available, the Jets set their sights on him.

Instead of trading a sixth-rounder, the Jets offered fifth- and seventh-round picks and asked for the Bears’ seventh-round pick along with Marshall. The deal was agreed to a day later.

Help for Geno

The Jets knew they were not bringing back Michael Vick after a bad one-year marriage. They wanted someone to compete with Geno Smith but also to be a good influence on him. There was a distinct possibility the Jets would draft a quarterback, and they wanted someone to mentor that player, too.

Maccagnan came from the Texans and knew they probably were going to get rid of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Houston wanted to sign free agent Brian Hoyer, whom the Jets had talked to as well. Maccagnan spoke to his former boss, Texans GM Rick Smith, several times in February about Fitzpatrick.

Ryan FitzpatrickUPI

On March 11, Smith was ready to do the deal because he needed to clear cap space. The Jets sent a conditional 2016 seventh-round pick to the Texans that could become a sixth-rounder based on playing time for Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick seemed like the perfect fit — good enough to compete with Smith, mature enough to handle the spotlight of that competition in New York and smart enough to help the team’s young quarterbacks. Which he has done, mentoring Smith and rookie Bryce Petty.

On guard

When the Jets looked at their offensive line, they knew they needed to add a guard.

Ndamukong Suh had just signed with the Dolphins, and the Bills were loaded on the defensive line. Shoring up the offensive line was a priority.

The Jets pursued Orlando Franklin first, but he signed with the Chargers because he knew coach Mike McCoy from their time in Denver. Then they went after Mike Iupati, the ex-49er and top guard on the market.

Iupati had expressed a desire to stay on the West Coast, but for a few hours, the Jets thought they were landing him because they were competing with the Vikings, Eagles and Bills. Then the Cardinals showed up, and the Jets knew they were out — Arizona gave Iupati five years and $40 million.

The Jets quickly moved on to Seattle’s James Carpenter and signed him to a four-year, $19 million contract. That gave them about $4 million in unexpected savings, allowing them to pursue a third cornerback.

Finishing touches

Though cornerback was the biggest need, safety was a close second. The Jets needed a free safety to allow second-year player Calvin Pryor to move back to strong, his natural position.

When they saw the Chargers’ Marcus Gilchrist, they felt he was a perfect fit for Bowles’ defense. He reminded them of Tyrann Mathieu, who thrived for Bowles in Arizona. They signed Gilchrist for four years and $22 million.

With that extra money saved by signing Carpenter, they turned to Cromartie. The former Jet had let it be known he would like to return, and Bowles liked him during their year together in Arizona. The two sides agreed on a four-year, $32 million deal, which the Jets easily can get out of after one year.

One week; seven days; 168 hours; 10,080 minutes; nearly $200 million spent.

So far, it looks worth every penny and every second.