INDIANAPOLIS — Coaches and executives offering vague answers during press conferences is as much a staple of the NFL Combine as prospects running 40-yard dashes.

But the New York Jets’ new decision makers, head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan, couldn’t help but point out the obvious during their first meeting with the national media in Indianapolis: They need cornerbacks. Badly.

“We want to get better at the corner,” Bowles said in response to the first question he fielded about the Jets’ roster.

“I would say there’s certain positions, if you look at our roster, based on some injuries last year, cornerback would be a position we’d probably address, whether it’s in the draft or pro free agency,” Maccagnan said in his first minute at the podium.

Of course, the whole world knows the Jets had the worst cornerback corps in the NFL last year, so it doesn’t do Bowles or Maccagnan any good to try and poker-face the issue.

The Jets were already threadbare at cornerback thanks to former general manager John Idzik’s reluctance or refusal to upgrade at the position, which “featured” journeyman veteran Dimitri Patterson and inconsistent 2013 first-round pick Dee Milliner penciled in as starters.

But Patterson was released at final cuts after going AWOL prior to the third preseason game against the Giants, and the injury-prone Milliner was in and out of the lineup due to myriad ailments before he tore his Achilles tendon Oct. 12.

By the end of the season, ex-head coach Rex Ryan had cobbled together a passable rotation at cornerback headed up by undrafted rookie free agent Marcus Williams and career backups Darrin Walls and Phillip Adams.

But despite performing better over the second half of the season — the Jets surrendered just nine touchdown passes in the final eight games, as opposed to 22 touchdown passes in the first eight games — nobody, least of all a new administration, was going to be lulled into going forward with the status quo, especially given its lack of play-making ability. The Jets had just four interceptions by cornerbacks last season.

Fortunately for the Jets, the wreckage created by Idzik offers plenty of opportunity to quickly improve at cornerback — and elsewhere. The Jets have almost $50 million in cap room, as well as the sixth pick in the draft following a 4-12 season.

With no cornerbacks projected to go in the top 10, the Jets’ draft position could allow them to either target another need — quarterback, anyone? — or draft down and collect more picks.

“The No. 6 pick is a nice pick to be at, but at the end of the day, I don’t think we’re going to lock ourselves into looking at one position and thinking that’s the one we have to go out and basically get,” Maccagnan said. “I think that’s where a lot of teams tend to be a little undisciplined sometimes and they make mistakes because they sort of force picks.

“So the real thing for us is to evaluate this draft class going forward, figure out how we have them ranked and then eventually figure out, at the No. 6 pick, whoever the best player is, that’s probably the player we’re going to try to take.”

There are plenty of long- and short-term cornerback options available in free agency, where 26-year-old Seahawks cornerback Bryon Maxwell leads a group that includes 30-somethings Tramon Williams and Antonio Cromartie, the latter of whom spent time with the Jets before being released last spring and signing with the Arizona Cardinals, where his defensive coordinator was Bowles.

Maccagnan may have provided a hint at the Jets’ plans when he spoke of stockpiling depth and getting the most bang for the bucks the club spends in free agency. Inking a pair of older cornerbacks to short-term deals for less combined money than it would take to sign someone such as Maxwell long-term would provide the Jets an immediate solution while also providing time for Milliner to potentially prove he can be a future stalwart at the position.

“The big thing for us: We have a lot of cap space,” Maccagnan said. “And our thing is basically maximize the return from an opportunity cost on that cap space. Now, however that plays itself out over time, that’s what we’re in the process of working through.”

And what if Milliner, who may not be ready for training camp, heals faster than expected and stays healthy?

“It may be a bit of a wild card, but it’s not necessarily a negative or a positive, because if he comes back well from his injury, then suddenly you’ve got a good player in him,” Maccagnan said. “If we go out there and add to that position and he comes back strongly, it just makes that position stronger.

“And I will say this with cornerbacks: I don’t think this is anything other GMs wouldn’t say. You can never have enough. So I’d be very happy if we had a surplus at that position.”

It would sure beat the alternative the Jets lived through last year.