Mike Kensil, former Jets executive, may have sparked Deflategate investigation

The longer the NFL goes without releasing any actual evidence that supports the claim that the New England Patriots deliberately under-inflated footballs, the more skeptical people become. The number of skeptics may increase when you hear who allegedly called attention to the issue.

Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com reports that multiple sources have told him that NFL vice president of game operations Mike Kensil is the “driving force” behind the Deflategate investigation. Kensil, who was on-site at the AFC Championship Game in Foxboro, was the director of football operations for the New York Jets for nearly 20 years. He apparently took an interest in the possibility of the Patriots using under-inflated balls earlier this season.

Uh oh.

Kensil was with the Jets until 2006. That means he was a member of the team’s front office in 2000 when Bill Belichick left the Jets high and dry to instead accepted a job as head coach of the Patriots. His father also served as president of the Jets for 10 years starting in the late 1970s.

While Curran notes that Kensil has a “strong reputation” around the league and is a respected professional, you can see how this would add another ugly element to the investigation if the NFL is unable to find any evidence that the Patriots knowingly broke rules.

That said, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has already been accused of tipping the NFL off about New England’s game balls. There are several conflicting reports floating around. The one thing they all seem to have in common is the assertion that the NFL may have tried to catch the Patriots in the act rather than warning them and protecting the integrity of a playoff game.