The New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh last month and are now parting ways with their general manager. Two days after their 28-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Jets fired general manager Joe Douglas.
Douglas was in the final year of his contract with the Jets, but team owner Woody Johnson now decided to hand him his exit papers after a 3-8 start. Douglas had served as the Jets’ general manager since 2019. During his tenure, New York failed to record a single winning season and never finished higher than third place in the AFC East. Overall, the Jets went 30-64 during Douglas’ time as general manager.
Johnson released a statement about his decision and announced that Phil Savage would serve as interim general manager.
“Today I informed Joe Douglas that he will no longer serve as General Manager of the New York Jets. I want to thank Joe for his commitment to the Jets over the past six years and wish him and his family the best in the future. Phil “Savage will be the interim General Manager for the remainder of the season. We will begin the process to identify a new General Manager immediately.”
The quarterback problem was the biggest problem during Douglas’ tenure. Since 2019, the Jets have started eight different quarterbacks: Sam Darnold, Luke Falk, Trevor Siemian, Joe Flacco, Zach Wilson, Mike White, Tim Boyle and Aaron Rodgers. Things were expected to change when the Jets traded for Rodgers, but his 2023 season was lost due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the season opener, and 2024 has been a disaster. The 3-8 starting record is Rodgers’ worst through 11 career games, and the Jets rank seventh-worst in total offense (294.4 yards per game) and seventh-worst in scoring offense (18.5 points per game).
However, Douglas recorded some notable successes in the draft, netting Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Jermaine Johnson II and Breece Hall all in the 2022 draft. However, Douglas failed on his first two picks in 2020 with Mekhi Becton and Denzel Mims, and then of course the selection of Wilson at No. 2 overall in 2021 didn’t work out.
Douglas, 48, broke into the NFL as a scout with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000. He served as the Chicago Bears’ director of college scouting in 2015 and served four years as the Philadelphia Eagles’ vice president of player personnel. NFL Media reports that several teams have a high opinion of Douglas, who should find his next NFL job soon enough. However, his time with the Jets is over.
As for finding replacements as head coach and general manager, the Jets must wait until the regular season ends before they can begin interviewing candidates who are currently on other teams.
