New York Jets owner Woody Johnson fired general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday after six years with the organization. The firing comes amid the Jets 3-8 season that has been an absolute mess and we are now learning details of just how big of a mess it was.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt, Woody Johnson had become increasingly involved with football decisions behind the scenes as of late. So involved, that he tried to push coaches to make a drastic change.
The report claims that following a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 4, Johnson held a “contentious” meeting with Jets coaches, including former head coach Robert Saleh who was fired one week later. During the meeting, Johnson pushed for the coaches to bench Aaron Rodgers in favor of Tyron Taylor because he felt Rodgers was the main culprit behind the team’s struggles.
Ultimately, Jets coaches were able to persuade Johnson against such a rash decision merely four games into the season.
“The idea of benching the future Hall of Famer sounded so absurd that one coach asked whether the owner was serious—multiple sources from that meeting believed he was,” Russini and Rosenblatt wrote
Rodgers remains the starter for the Jets, despite the Woody’s desires to bench him earlier in the season. Still, the results haven’t improved on the field. Despite the talent on both sides of the ball, the Jets are 3-8 on the year and 1-5 since firing Robert Saleh.
The Jets are in the market for a new general manager and head coach but if Woody Johnson remains this heavily involved in football decisions, it seems like a lot of top candidates would probably pass on this dysfunctional organization.
