HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Jets owner Woody Johnson decided a coaching change wasn’t enough.

A month after Herman Edwards left for Kansas City and three weeks after former New England defensive coordinator Eric Mangini was hired as head coach, general manager Terry Bradway stepped down as general manager yesterday. Assistant GM Mike Tannenbaum takes over for Bradway, who will stay with the team as a consultant.

“It’s time to set the team on a different course,”Johnson said at a news conference announcing the moves.

Bradway said the decision to leave was mutual.

“I think it’s important that Eric get off to a good start with the right people in place and the fact that Mike is very deserving of this opportunity, the fact that he has a good relationship with Eric will be a plus for the Jets,” Bradway said on a conference call. “I know those guys will work tirelessly.”

Bradway and Edwards came to the Jets together in 2001 and helped the team make the playoffs three times in five years.But after going 4-12 this past season, it became clear New York wanted to move in a different direction.

Bradway took a heap of criticism when he allowed Edwards to go to Kansas City in exchange for the low price of a fourth-round pick. During the search for a new coach, Tannenbaum was instrumental in landing the 35-year-old Mangini, largely because of their close friendship.

But Tannenbaum bristled when asked whether it was his call to hire Mangini.

“I can’t sit here and rewrite history or what could of or should have happened,” he said. “The hiring process in 2006 was very similar to what it was in 2001, where Woody, Terry, and myself were a part of it. It was Terry’s final say. The processes were very similar.”

Bradway also denied there was a power struggle between him, Tannenbaum, and Mangini.

“I just have to laugh,” Bradway said. “Eric’s been great. He’s worked his butt off since he’s gotten here. He’s definitely the right guy for this job. There was never any power struggle.”

But it will be difficult to turn the Jets around considering the older players they have on the roster and the inexperience they have at the highest levels. The 36-year-old Tannenbaum has never been a GM. The 35-year-old Mangini has never been a head coach.

Bradway, meanwhile, will be most remembered for many of the flops he made. In 2003, the team took a big hit when they lost four players in free agency to Washington: Laveranues Coles, Randy Thomas, Chad Morton, and John Hall, who became known as the Jetskins.

He drafted defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson at no.4 overall later that year, but Robertson hasn’t made a big impact. Last year, the Jets traded their no. 1 pick to Oakland for Doug Jolley, who contributed little to the team.

Only one player drafted under Bradway has made the Pro Bowl with the Jets – second-year linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who was selected as an injury replacement.

Tannenbaum is entering his ninth season with the Jets. He and Mangini first met in Cleveland and also were with the Jets in 1997, and their friendship grew from there. Mangini spent the past six seasons with Patriots, who won three Super Bowls during his tenure. Before that he was an assistant coach for the Jets from 1997 to 1999 under Bill Parcells.