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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers nailed it with dead-on accuracy — not a pass, but a prediction.
“If I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing,” he said in May after an offseason practice, “we’re all probably going to be out of here.”
Out: General manager Joe Douglas, fired Tuesday.
Out: Coach Robert Saleh, fired Oct. 8.
Demoted: Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, stripped of playcalling Oct. 10.
In a few months, Rodgers could be the next man out.
The Jets, who lured Rodgers out of the darkness nearly two years ago, are now the ones in the dark, heading toward a total reboot in the offseason.
One by one, owner Woody Johnson is taking care of family business, eliminating the heads of his organization to start a new era. He’s running out of people to fire, but you never know what might happen. There’s still six weeks to go in perhaps the most disappointing season in franchise history.
Six weeks ago, Johnson called this the best roster he’s had in 25 years of ownership. On Tuesday, he gave up on the roster, handing its architect — Douglas — a pink slip.
In 2025, the Jets will have a new GM, a new coach and, possibly, a new quarterback — which would be an unprecedented trifecta for them. Johnson fired Douglas this early to get a jump on the GM search, which figures to get competitive.
Johnson hasn’t commented on his plans, but the traditional route would be to hire a GM, who hires the coach. That’s not etched in stone, though. If Johnson covets Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (no relation), who could be the hottest head-coaching candidate, would he give him more authority than the GM? Other teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, employ this structure.
Woody Johnson hasn’t hired a coach or GM since 2015, when he brought Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan on board at the same time. (Consultants Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf were heavily involved in that process.) The most recent coaching hires (Saleh and Adam Gase) and GM hire (Douglas) were handled by vice chairman Christopher Johnson, who ran the team while his older brother served as the ambassador to the United Kingdom (2017-2021).
If Woody Johnson returns to the same post in Donald Trump’s second administration, which is possible, the expectation is that he would stick around long enough to get a new Jets regime in place before heading off to London. Christopher would return to the role of acting owner. It might make sense to bring in someone with a fresh perspective — a president of football operations — to assist in the rebuilding of the front office. Former Jets great Curtis Martin, who has maintained NFL contacts through his business ventures, would be a popular choice. His name has created some buzz on social media.
The new boss (or bosses) will walk into a building that has been demoralized by the losing and the firings. One person close to the situation described it as a “miserable” atmosphere, saying Douglas probably was glad to get away from it.
Johnson had become increasingly meddlesome in personnel matters, multiple people close to the situation said. It was Johnson who demanded the benching of safety Tony Adams for last Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, they said. It’s highly unusual for an owner to be that involved. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich offered only a cryptic explanation for the benching, saying, “There’s a lot of different things that went into that and I’d rather not expand on it.”
Woody Johnson thought replacing Saleh with Ulbrich, the popular defensive coordinator, would spark a turnaround 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 worst in the league (24th in points allowed since Week 6). Johnson thought he was handing Ulbrich a broken Ferrari that just needed a tune-up; in reality, it needs a complete overhaul, starting at quarterback.
Rodgers, who turns 41 on Dec. 2, hasn’t played anywhere close to his previous standard, ranking 24th out of 31 quarterbacks in Total QBR. He’s signed for next season, but he and the Jets appear headed toward a mutual parting. One person familiar with Woody Johnson’s thinking said he’d be “shocked” if the owner brings back Rodgers in 2025.
Rodgers might 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 stick around to play for a new coach and learn a new system.
In April 2023, Douglas made the biggest trade in franchise history, 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 Sept. 11, 2023, when Rodgers ruptured his Achilles in his first game with the team. Just rotten 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 got five-plus seasons (record: 30-64), outlasted two coaches (Gase and Saleh) and was granted a reprieve on his biggest mistake — the drafting of quarterback Zach Wilson, No. 2 overall in 2021.
Not many GMs get a second bite at the quarterback apple, but Douglas, who’s contract was up at the end of the season, pivoted from Wilson to Rodgers, thinking the quick fix would make everything right. But as the four-time MVP alluded, they’d all be out of there if he didn’t play to his potential. Everybody knew the stakes.
All or nothing.
Nothing won.
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