“If I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing,” he said in May after an offseason practice, “we’re probably all going to be out of here.”
Out: General manager Joe Douglas, fired Tuesday.
Out: Coach Robert Saleh, fired October 8.
Demoted: Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett stripped of snaps Oct. 10.
In a few months, Rodgers could be the next man out.
The Jets, who plucked Rodgers from obscurity nearly two years ago, are now the ones in the dark and heading toward a complete offseason reset.
One by one, owner Woody Johnson takes over the family business, eliminating the bosses of his organization to begin a new era. You’re running out of people to fire, but you never know what could happen. There are still six weeks left in perhaps the most disappointing season in franchise history.
Six weeks ago, Johnson called this the best roster he’s had in 25 years as an owner. On Tuesday, he left the squad and gave his architect, Douglas, a pink slip.
In 2025, the Jets will have a new general manager, a new coach and possibly a new quarterback, which would be an unprecedented trifecta for them. Johnson fired Douglas so early to get a jump on GM’s search, which is expected to become competitive.
Johnson hasn’t commented on his plans, but the traditional route would be to hire a general manager, who hires the coach. However, that is not set in stone. If Johnson covets Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (no relation), who might be the top head coaching candidate, would he give him more authority than the general manager? Other teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, employ this structure.
Woody Johnson hasn’t hired a coach or general manager since 2015, when he brought in Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan at the same time. (Consultants Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf were heavily involved in that process.) The most recent coaching (Saleh and Adam Gase) and general manager (Douglas) hires were made by vice president Christopher Johnson, who led the team while his older brother served as the ambassador to the United Kingdom (2017-2021).
If Woody Johnson returns to the same position in Donald Trump’s second administration, which is possible, the expectation is that he will stay long enough to establish a new Jets regime before leaving for London. Christopher would return to the role of interim owner. It might make sense to bring in someone with a fresh perspective (a president of football operations) to help rebuild the front office. Former Jets great Curtis Martin, who has maintained contacts with the NFL through his businesses, would be a popular choice. His name has generated some stir on social networks.
The new boss (or bosses) will enter a building that has been demoralized by defeats and layoffs. A person close to the situation described it as a “miserable” atmosphere and said Douglas was probably glad to get away from it.
Johnson had become increasingly meddlesome in personnel matters, several people close to the situation said. It was Johnson who demanded that safety Tony Adams be benched for last Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, they said. It is very unusual for an owner to be so involved. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich offered only one cryptic explanation for the benching, saying, “There’s a lot of different things that went into that and I’d rather not expand on them.”
Woody Johnson thought replacing Saleh with Ulbrich, the popular defensive coordinator, would spark a change after a 2-3 start.
He thought wrong. Since then, the Jets are 1-5, with a once-proud defense that now ranks among the league’s worst (24th in points allowed since Week 6). Johnson thought he was handing Ulbrich a broken-down Ferrari that just needed a tune-up; In reality, he needs a complete overhaul, starting with the quarterback.
Rodgers, who turns 41 on Dec. 2, hasn’t played anywhere near his previous standard, ranking 24th among 31 quarterbacks in Total QBR. He’s signed for next season, but he and the Jets appear headed toward a mutual parting of ways. A person familiar with Woody Johnson’s thinking said he would be “surprised” if the owner brings Rodgers back in 2025.
Rodgers may not want to return. He came to New York to play for Douglas, Saleh and Hackett, and it’s hard to imagine him wanting to stay to play for a new coach and learn a new system.
In April 2023, Douglas made the biggest trade in franchise history by acquiring Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers. He thought Rodgers would do for the Jets what Tom Brady and Peyton Manning did for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos, respectively.
Since the trade, the Jets are 10-18.
Everything changed on September 11, 2023, when Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon in his first game with the team. Just bad luck. Nothing has been the same since then.
Douglas, who was hired in 2019, can’t say he didn’t get a fair chance. He had five-plus seasons (record: 30-64), outlasted two coaches (Gase and Saleh) and was granted a reprieve on his biggest mistake: drafting quarterback Zach Wilson, No. 2 overall in 2021.
Not many general managers take a second bite at the quarterback apple, but Douglas, whose contract was up at the end of the season, moved from Wilson to Rodgers, thinking the quick fix would fix everything. But as the four-time MVP alluded to, everyone would be out of there if he didn’t play to his potential. Everyone knew what was at stake.
All or nothing.
He didn’t win anything.
