Joe Douglas was on borrowed time with the Jets thanks to a bad decision he made years ago
It was a make-or-break season for Joe Douglas and the Jets are certainly broken. And they are broken beyond repair. Today it was announced that it won’t be Joe Douglas looking to rebuild the team, as they fired the GM after almost six years and a 30-64 record. The move to fire Joe Douglas certainly […]
It was a make-or-break season for Joe Douglas and the Jets are certainly broken. And they are broken beyond repair. Today it was announced that it won’t be Joe Douglas looking to rebuild the team, as they fired the GM after almost six years and a 30-64 record.
The move to fire Joe Douglas certainly is not a surprising one, but the timing of it, much like when the Jets ousted Robert Saleh after five games is a little head-scratching. The Jets are not allowed to interview any potential GM candidates who are working for other teams until after the regular season ends. So, the idea that they are getting a head start on interviews is false. Essentially all this move accomplishes is punting on the rest of the season (not that I have a problem with that) and filing paperwork early.
In a statement, Woody Johnson says that Phil Savage will serve as the team’s interim GM and they will begin the process immediately of searching for a new GM. What that means is anyone’s guess, but it is likely Woody is trying to get a head start because he is likely headed back to the UK to serve as ambassador under Donald Trump’s administration and doesn’t want to leave the decision to his brother, Christopher who is going to take over running the team.
Joe Douglas entered the year as a lame duck GM, and it was understood to both him and then head coach Robert Saleh that it was playoffs or bust for the Jets. After another terrible loss to the Indianapolis Colts after being booted out of primetime for the matchup the playoffs are nothing more than a pipe dream.
Joe Douglas was a GM that most fans wanted to root for because he was a football guy, unlike his predecessor, Mike Maccagnan who was a numbers guy. His first year as GM saw him fleece the Seattle Seahawks for two first-round picks for a malcontent box safety, hire the coach everyone thought would be a home run and draft a left tackle that was supposed to man the position for the next decade.
Joe’s propensity to make a good trade was overshadowed by his inability to draft talent with the assets he acquired in those trades. True, he had one of the greatest single drafts in the history of the Jets in 2022 when he brought in Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Jermaine Johnson and Breece Hall, but outside of that draft class, it was a lot of running backs, busts, and mediocrity.
In truth, Joe Douglas started down the path of being fired the moment he decided to draft Zach Wilson. Wilson was never going to be a success in the NFL and the fans were so fed up with the losing that they weren’t going to let the Jets have another bite at the rookie QB apple without a playoff appearance to hold them over. Enter one of the worst owners in sports, Woody Johnson, who pushed aside his GM and then gave the entire franchise over to Aaron Rodgers.
Once it was clear the Jets had no future with Zach Wilson at quarterback, Woody seized all control from Joe Douglas and gave complete control to Rodgers with Johnson’s backing. Was it wrong to bring in Aaron Rodgers? I don’t think so, but it was also Woody Johnson’s decision to give him all the power. Not Joe Douglas.
The real telling moments on just how out Joe Douglas was, came when he wasn’t informed of Saleh’s firing until after the fact, and when the Jets who were already drowning, traded for Davante Adams. Both moves that I don’t believe Douglas would have made if he oversaw the roster the way he was supposed to be.
I don’t want to make it sound like I’m defending Joe Douglas too much. 30-64 is still 30-64 in almost six years and that is simply not good enough. The problem is, I’m not sure the next GM will have much more success if they are undermined the way Douglas was at the end of his tenure.
As for the next GM, unless it is someone currently not working for a team (Bill Belichick?) then we won’t know until January. My choice for GM would be whoever Mike Vrabel wants to work with as the head coach, but that might be a pipe dream in itself.
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