Now is the Chance for the Jets to Finally Get it Right

 Woody Johnson gave his fanbase what they needed today. A way out of this nightmare of a season. With the news today that Joe Douglas is out as New York Jets General Manager, there are many critical pressure points hit with this move.

The first and most obvious pressure point is that the roaring dumpster fire that is the New York Jets franchise keeps blazing at a record incendiary rate. Only the Jets would have an owner that superseded the General Manager to fire the head coach the GM hired, stepped in on negotiations that were at a stalemate because of the front offices view on the player, and have had a calendar year where he publicly stripped the General Manager of all his power, only to fire the General Manager and blame him for the mess of a season before the season is over. But it’s when you take a half step away from the fire that you see an opportunity to finally correct the incalculable number of wrongs over the past 14 years. Joe Douglas was brought here to end the longest playoff drought in the NFL when he was hired. By missing completely on an entire draft in 2020, drafting Zach Wilson at number two overall in 2021, and failing to make it work with Aaron Rodgers, Douglas only made it worse. But at least ownership is taking accountability for the playoff mandate they “unofficially” handed out at the beginning of the season.

The next pressure point is a unique one at that. It is now Woody Johnson’s job to channel James Dolan and hire the right people to turn it around. In 2020 when the Phil Jackson experiment didn’t work out at Madison Square Garden, extending the Knicks stay in the basement of the NBA a few more seasons, Dolan struck gold hiring Leon Rose. Knicks fans when Rose was hired were at their wits end with the franchise and couldn’t believe it could get worse. Sound familiar?

Granted Jets fans have been saying that phrase to themselves each and every week for the better part of five decades, but now there is the best chance they’ve had in forever to get it right.

The final pressure point is one fans have been trying to come up with an answer for since Bill Belichick resign as the HC of the NYJ. The question of “Who?”

Who could possibly be up for the task of fixing the NFL’s most dysfunctional franchise? A franchise that has a city full of skeletons and curses, expectations that are only exceeded by the Dallas Cowboys, and no success to speak of since Rex Ryan was let go almost 15 years ago.

A few names come to mind. One is Jets legend Curtis Martin. Martin is a fan favorite, has reportedly been trying to get into a front office roll for years, is well liked in high league office circles, and could not only be the figure head to get it right, but come from a former players perspective and connect more with the player personal side of things. I’d have Martin serve as the Head of Football Operations. Next, I would drop a giant pile of money in front of Mike Borgonzi, the assistant General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, or Alec Halaby, the Philadelphia Eagles assistant General Manager, or Nolan Teasley, the assistant General Manager of the Seattle Seahawks. The reason for those three is because the teams these three man are working for are teams that are constantly in the playoffs and make deep runs in the postseason and each of those assistant GM’s have been with those organizations for a number of years so they understand what it takes to build a sustainable winner. Finally, I would offer Mike Vrabel an offer he couldn’t refuse and give him total control of rebuilding the culture of this franchise. Vrabel because he’s the only Belichick assistant that has found what it takes to tap into what makes Belichick teams so great. But even saying that, Vrabel has only gotten to the Championship Game once, the Divisional Round twice, and has never made the Super Bowl.

Whoever fills the role of General Manager and Head Coach next for the New York Jets, one rule most be followed. Don’t skip steps during this rebuild. Following the Rebuild for Dummies book to a tee. The Jets should reread it twice if need be. Look through successful rebuilds of the most recent past. Kansas City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. All of these franchises drafted a quarterback of the future and all of them didn’t play them right away. All of them hired a coach and let him set the culture through some tough first seasons. All of them identified two or three years into the rebuild when to go for it and try to win again. That’s the blueprint. But in order for it work, you need to follow it step by step. Joe Douglas tried with Zach Wilson, he failed him immediately by playing him right away, and then he failed by trying to suck up to Aaron Rodgers on a get rich quick scheme, and that’s ultimately why he was let go. There’s no more time for the easy way, winning is hard, and it’s on Woody Johnson now to deliver on the opportunity he has awarded his diehard fanbase.