Inside the Jets’ downfall to NFL laughingstock: ‘One decision after another’

[doitny]

interesting article i thought some of you guys would like. 

 

 

In January 2015, Frank Reich interviewed for the Jets’ head-coaching job.

At the time, Reich was the Chargers’ offensive coordinator, and this was a chance to become a head coach. Boomer Esiason, who roomed with Reich at the University of Maryland three decades earlier and was now a radio host in New York, drove to Florham Park to pick Reich up after the interview.

“How did it go?” Esiason asked.

“Great,” Reich responded.

“I said, ‘Oh man, I hope it didn’t go that great,’ ” Esiason recalled recently. “I said, ‘You don’t want this team right now. I know this is the greatest opportunity of a lifetime. You’re interviewing for a head-coaching position in the NFL. It’s awesome. But I said you don’t want this job. There are too many uncertainties. You don’t know who your quarterback is going to be. Ownership goes with the wind. They listen to their fan base. They read the papers. They listen to sports talk radio. They get Twitter-fied. It was not, at that moment, what I would consider that great of a job.”

The Jets ended up hiring Todd Bowles, and Esiason was proven correct. Reich was hired by the Colts in 2018 as their head coach and has been to the playoffs twice in three years. After a 10-6 mirage of a 2015 season, the Jets have gone 23-57, the worst record in football. They have drafted two quarterbacks in the top three picks of the draft, failed to have a winning season and bottomed out last year at 2-14.

Ten years ago, it would have been hard to imagine the Jets becoming a laughingstock. They had been to back-to-back AFC Championship games, capping off a decade of frequent playoff appearances. Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez were the toast of the town. Everything looked aligned for years of prosperity.

“I felt like we were heading in the right direction,” Mike Tannenbaum, the Jets GM from 2006-12, said. “I believed in the talent and character of the team. … It just didn’t work out the way we had hoped.”

The Jets are now a decade removed from their last playoff appearance, the longest active drought in the NFL.

So, what happened? How did the Jets go from so close to the top of the NFL mountain they could see it to tumbling to what feels like the bottom of Mount Everest?

The easiest place is to start at the top. Fans are quick to blame owners Woody and Christopher Johnson, and rightfully so … to a degree. The Johnsons deserve blame for taking bad advice, making bad hires and being slow to correct their mistakes. They have not, however, been cheap, like some owners in New York, or overly meddling.

“I always felt like the Johnson family gave us all the resources to be successful starting with the facility,” Tannenbaum, now an ESPN analyst, said. “If we weren’t successful it was because of bad decisions. We always had everything we needed.’

Speaking to numerous people who have passed through the Jets organization over the past 10 years, one theme comes up: The Johnsons are easily influenced. Sometimes it is external forces like the media or fans. Sometimes it is internal forces like a team president or adviser who gets their ear. Other times it is a consultant, such as Jed Hughes or Charley Casserly, who advised them on GM and coaching searches, or a phone call from Peyton Manning to influence a coaching hire.

That has led to a series of bad decisions, which have mainly been bad hires. Bad hires have led to bad decisions on personnel, particularly in the draft. Bad players have made bad coaches. All of it has led to hitting the reset button every two years, creating instability at the top of the organization and making it feel as if the Jets have been on a treadmill to nowhere.

“One decision after another decision after another decision has been a failure to the point where they went 2-14 last year,” Esiason said.

The hires

Things really began to go off the rails when Woody Johnson decided to fire Tannenbaum at the end of the 2012 season and keep Ryan as head coach. The organization no longer had alignment, and that has plagued the team since.

John Idzik replaced Tannenbaum in 2013 and Mike Maccagnan replaced him in 2015. Both came without much fanfare around the NFL. Neither man had ever interviewed for a GM job before the Jets hired him. Idzik was selected by a search firm led by Hughes. Maccagnan was recommended by Casserly, who had been Maccagnan’s mentor.

Both GMs were given arranged marriages at coach. Idzik inherited Ryan and the two clashed and were on two very different timelines. Ryan wanted to win now. Idzik was trying to rebuild.

Maccaganan and Todd Bowles were hired together, but had just one dinner together before being paired to lead an organization. The two were a bad mix and were barely speaking by their final year together in 2018.

Maccagnan then hired Adam Gase in 2019 and paired him with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, another bad mix of personalities.

“The Gase failure was more a product of the general manager and the owner trying to put people together on a coaching staff that would have never worked,” Esiason said. “That decision back in 2019 has to be one of the worst ever decisions that have been made. It was not just Adam Gase as the head coach. It’s bringing him and Gregg Williams together. It was a colossal failure.”

Gase lasted just two years, but his clashes with Maccagnan led to Christopher Johnson firing Maccagnan in May 2019 and hiring Joe Douglas a month later, a move the Jets hope ends the chain of poor hires.

Draft doldrums

When searching for the reasons that the Jets are in the hole they are in now, their drafting record stands out above all else. The Jets have been a terrible drafting team, particularly under Maccagnan.

On the current roster, there are no draft picks from prior to 2017 and only three from the 2017-18 drafts. The 2015-20 drafts should be the core of this team, yet only 41.9 percent of the picks were still on the roster as of Aug. 30, the 23rd-most in the NFL.

The Jets have been bad at every level of drafting. They only have four of the 10 players taken in the first and second rounds in those years still on the roster, the worst mark in the NFL. Those players should be the stars of this team. The ones that did hit — Leonard Williams and Jamal Adams — were traded because of their contract demands. Of the nine first-round picks between 2011-18, only Muhammad Wilkerson received a second contract with the Jets.

They have not hit on the mid-round and late-round picks that should be the “middle class” on their roster, the guys who provide depth. Instead, every year the Jets have to add a large number of players in free agency just to fill out their roster.

No position has been hit harder by the Jets inability to draft than the offensive line — where no players were drafted in the first or second rounds between 2011-19.

The bad drafts led to the Jets chasing bad players in free agency with bloated contracts. Free-agent deals with Darrelle Revis ($39 million guaranteed), Trumaine Johnson ($34 million), Le’Veon Bell ($27 million) and C.J. Mosley ($43 million) have all been colossal failures, although Mosley still has time to turn it around.

QB quest

For all of the Jets’ problems, a good quarterback would have covered up many of them.

Instead, the Jets have whiffed time and again. The Jets have drafted seven quarterbacks since 2011, more than any other team. They have taken two in the first round and two in the second round. Zach Wilson’s story has yet to be written, but the others did not work. Moves like the trade for Tim Tebow and the selection of Christian Hackenberg in the second round of the 2016 draft failed spectacularly

Sanchez, Geno Smith and Sam Darnold all showed promise early only to fizzle out and lead the team to move on. They could have drafted Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson in 2017, but wanted to give Hackenberg a chance. They picked Darnold over Josh Allen in 2018. The mistakes have been plenty.

“For the Jets, it’s been a very hard road,” Mark Dominik, the former Buccaneers GM who is now a host on SiriusXM NFL radio, said. “It’s been disappointments. It’s all predicated on the quarterback. You try to figure that out and get it right. When you don’t get it right, it costs people jobs, it costs players jobs, it costs everybody jobs. That’s just the life of the National Football League.”

Instability

This part is a chicken or the egg question. Has the Jets instability led to all the losing or has all the losing led to the instability?

If you look at the last decade, it is easy to chop it up into two-year segments.

2011-12: The final two years of the remaining core from the AFC title teams and Tannenbaum’s last two years.

2013-14: The Idzik failure.

2015-16: Maccagnan and Bowles go with veterans and it works for one year and fails spectacularly in the second.

2017-18: The teardown and drafting of Darnold.

2019-20: Gase and Douglas try to turn the roster over but bottom out in the second year.

The Jets have been quick to abandon certain plans, such as Idzik’s and Gase’s. Ultimately, those may have been the right calls, but have led to constant turnover because new coaches and new GMs like new players. Very few Jets have lasted longer than three or four years with the team during the decade.

There is also a question of how much the New York media and fans have led to this turnover because of a lack of patience and quick calls for people to be fired.

The future

Now, the question becomes: Do the Jets finally have it right with Douglas at GM, coach Robert Saleh and Wilson the quarterback?

“There has been a lack of stability,” Esiason said. “I’d like to think they finally have it straight now. I believe Woody and Christopher Johnson believe in Joe Douglas. Joe Douglas believes in Robert Saleh, and Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas and the ownership believe in Zach Wilson. The stability part I hope is there. But Jets fans have to realize that they are starting over.”

Will the fans have patience with the current regime? Will the Johnsons?

There are good vibes around the team entering 2021. Douglas’ decision to move on from Darnold and draft Wilson looks good so far.

“Joe had to focus on the quarterback and had to figure out whether Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson is going to be better,” Dominik said. “I truthfully believe that Joe Douglas got that right. That’s a huge deal. I think for Jets fans that should bring some hope in a decade that’s been difficult.”

The Jets have piled up bad decisions in the last decade. But maybe they have finally gotten it right.

Check back in 2031. 

[Integrity28]

3 minutes ago, doitny said:

The Johnsons are easily influenced. Sometimes it is external forces like the media or fans. Sometimes it is internal forces like a team president or adviser who gets their ear. Other times it is a consultant, such as Jed Hughes or Charley Casserly, who advised them on GM and coaching searches, or a phone call from Peyton Manning to influence a coaching hire.

?

[JTJet]

Thanks for pissing me off before bed. 

[varjet]

5 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

?

Chris Johnson is a bumbler but he knew that the organizational structure needed to change.  Woody is too thick headed. 

The Johnson’s will avoid paying money to guys with issues.  Robby and Herndon were never getting a contract.  They really fear laying out the big money contract.  They still do it, but avoid it 

[Saul Goodman]

This article nailed it. I’m hopeful we are on the right track. Disappointed in the 2020 draft though. Really hope that the 2021 draft pays off. At least Joe Douglas focuses on the offensive line and offense in general. 

[y2k8]

18 minutes ago, varjet said:

Chris Johnson is a bumbler but he knew that the organizational structure needed to change.  Woody is too thick headed. 

The only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn by outsiders is that they are both morons. Giving one credit over the other is absurd speculation.

[Lizard King]

This reads like a Stephen King novel. 

[Sarge4Tide]

3 minutes ago, Lizard King said:

This reads like a Stephen King novel. 

[Beerfish]

Absolutely nothing new or anything that has not been discussed on this forum.

I thought Bowles and Idzik were bad.

The Jets somehow managed to go hire much much worse guys in McCagnan and Gase.

[doitny]

39 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

?

thats what worries me. how fans can influence them. thankfully there aren't too many guys like @SAR I who are demanding 8-9 wins or else. what if we win 4 do we fire JD and start over again?

almost every article and Quotes from JD and Saleh tell us they aren't expecting to win anywhere near 8-9 wins. hopefully Woody is on the same page 

[SomebodytoAnybody47]

F off Esiason

[SAR I]

1 hour ago, doitny said:

thats what worries me. how fans can influence them. thankfully there aren't too many guys like @SAR I who are demanding 8-9 wins or else

I’m not the problem.  I’m the guy who screamed that Rex Ryan was a fraud as early as 2011 and that Mike Tannenbaum and Mark Sanchez should have been retained.  Clearly they didn’t listen.  

And I’m not demanding 8 wins.  I’m expecting them.  There’s a difference. 

SAR I

[Joe W. Namath]

The Jets r in the best position in the league for a rebuilding team.  The future has never been brighter.

Thank you Joe Douglas!  Thank you!!

[SAR I]

2 minutes ago, Joe W. Namath said:

The Jets r in the best position in the league for a rebuilding team.  The future has never been brighter.

Thank you Joe Douglas!  Thank you!!

If Joe Douglas has hit it big on this year‘s draft and free agency class you may be right.  If not, he’s on a Maccagnan track as an awful player-picker.  

SAR I

[David Harris]

It's tough absolutely hating the owner of the team you devote so much time to.

And I mean Woody Johnson, he is an absolute moron.  Not just a terrible businessman but an actual low IQ silver spoon pretentious effete low testosterone imbecile.

 

Hopefully now him and his brother finally get out of the way. Go Jets.

[Jet2020]

If Zach fails and doesn’t show any promise whatsoever, you double down at QB next year with your first two picks and let them make up the depth chart. You can have an elite team but a sh*t QB won’t save you. We haven’t had an elite roster and haven’t had a half decent QB. 

[Rolloffjet]

2 hours ago, JTJet said:

Thanks for pissing me off before bed. 

[Jet2020]

19 minutes ago, Joe W. Namath said:

The Jets r in the best position in the league for a rebuilding team.  The future has never been brighter.

Thank you Joe Douglas!  Thank you!!

That tends to be the case when you hit rock bottom. 

[RevisIsland610]

Like we didn't already know the jets have been a clown show for a decade. I think we now have a GM and coach who know what they are doing and real QB. Time will tell. 

[Vader]

They didn’t even mention the uniforms decision 

[jamesr]

Quote

Will the fans have patience with the current regime?

"Fire Joe Douglas!"  

The fact that we - finally - have a GM, HC and QB all on pretty much the same timeline gives me hope for the future ... the constant firing of one guy, who gets replaced and gets rid of the other guy, who starts changing the players only for the first guy to get fired straight after, has led to years of constant flux.

Even if Joe D and Saleh are unspectacular, we have to at least ride it out and get to a more stable base before hitting reset all over again. And if we do - start afresh on all fronts, no more keeping the coaches and forcing them on the next GM. 

[SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN]

SELL WOODY SELL

[southparkcpa]

7 hours ago, y2k8 said:

The only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn by outsiders is that they are both morons. Giving one credit over the other is absurd speculation.

Both are unaccomplished men.   Chris has a WIKI page of almost nothing.

It would be hard to accomplish less than Woody and Chris considering their wealth.  Woodys biggest coup is buying the Jets.  Within 10 years he has turned them into a laughing stock. 

[UntouchableCrew]

Where is this from? Who is it by?

[Anthony Jet]

8 hours ago, Beerfish said:

Absolutely nothing new or anything that has not been discussed on this forum.

I thought Bowles and Idzik were bad.

The Jets somehow managed to go hire much much worse guys in McCagnan and Gase.

Not saying either we’re particularly good at there job. But Idzik and Bowles get to much blame on this site. 
 

Idzik had a good plan, he just couldn’t execute it and his drafts were bad (unfortunately the infamous Idzik 12 was a bad draft in general but he didn’t help himself at all)

 

Bowles wasn’t a good head coach, but he wasn’t terrible. I definitely can see him getting another shot. 
 

But like you said compared to the people hired to replace them, they were Vince Lombardi and Ozzie Newsone 

[68JET11]

7 hours ago, SAR I said:

If Joe Douglas has hit it big on this year‘s draft and free agency class you may be right.  If not, he’s on a Maccagnan track as an awful player-picker.  

SAR I

It speaks volumes that you're the only one that upvotes your own posts... lmao

[JetsFanatic]

The key is a stable franchise. Saleh and Douglas are here for the long haul. The Johnson Brothers, in the past, have over reacted to the media and the fans. That won’t be the case this time. They finally are on the right path.

[Biggs]

I was a season ticket holder in AZ when Arians was the HC and Bowles was the DC.  I always thought Bowles would be a good HC.  The most interesting thing in that article was Bowles apparently hated Mac as much as Gase did.

Bowles was a very creative DC in AZ.  He put together good game plans, adjusted during games and had a great relationship with the players without being their pal.  It was amazing how different he appeared to be when he was made the HC and worked with an incompetent GM to build a team.  It looked like it sucked the life out of him. 

Gase to his credit wasn't a nice guy and got rid of Mac and Williams.  He doesn't get credit for his ability to coach players and lead a team.  He sucked at that.  

I suspect Bowles may get another chance at some point.  Possibly to replace Arians when he retires.  It will be interesting to see how it goes with better ownership and a good GM if he lands in the right spot. 

[LIJetsFan]

10 hours ago, Saul Goodman said:

This article nailed it. I’m hopeful we are on the right track. Disappointed in the 2020 draft though. Really hope that the 2021 draft pays off. At least Joe Douglas focuses on the offensive line and offense in general. 

JD syncs with is HC, drafting players he thinks fit the HC's scheme.  So, keep in mind that JD was drafting for Gase in 2020.  Enough said.  As one example, I'm thinking Morgan fit Gases' scheme, et.al.    

[rangerous]

There are some good and valid points made. But quoting boomer is a little iffy.  Boomer was a big part of the jet failures of the 90’s and its kind of funny to have him comment since this period is nearly a copy of when he was QB minus the johnsons.  This jet ineptness just didn’t start in 2015.

[Lith]

Where is this from? Who is it by?

Costello. NY Post.

[Jet Nut]

9 hours ago, SAR I said:

I’m not the problem.  I’m the guy who screamed that Rex Ryan was a fraud as early as 2011 and that Mike Tannenbaum and Mark Sanchez should have been retained.  Clearly they didn’t listen.  

And I’m not demanding 8 wins.  I’m expecting them.  There’s a difference. 

SAR I

Clearly the Jets problem was not holding onto Mark Sanchez. 

And who are you clowning, you absolutely have demanded 8 wins.  

[CSNY]

9 hours ago, SAR I said:

And I’m not demanding 8 wins.  I’m expecting them.  There’s a difference. 

SAR I

To be fair you did not or haven’t demanded 8 wins you have mandated them which by definition is an order. Now you have expectations of 8 wins which is a belief that something will happen. Big difference 

[FidelioJet]

I still have a hard time believing CJ hired Gase. 
 

it was such an obviously bad choice. 

[SAR I]

34 minutes ago, rangerous said:

There are some good and valid points made. But quoting boomer is a little iffy.  Boomer was a big part of the jet failures of the 90’s and its kind of funny to have him comment since this period is nearly a copy of when he was QB minus the johnsons.  This jet ineptness just didn’t start in 2015.

Hear hear.

He may be a radio broadcaster and Ranger fan we're proud of in 2021, but when he was a Jet he was a criminal.  He stole our money, played like absolute crap, and blamed all his problems on everyone but himself. 

He aligns himself as the boo-hoo-pity-me Kotite victim but he got Coslet fired and Carroll fired.

SAR I