New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas makes it clear: He will not be satisfied until his team wins the Super Bowl.
A very special New York Jets state of the union transpired Monday, Labor Day, and it featured the two-headed monster that is Joe Douglas and Adam Gase. Initially scheduled to meet the media at different times, the general manager-head coach combo hopped on Zoom together.
“Boring” is a great way to describe the festivities—a tremendous sign for the organization. Boring rarely causes issues. It can hardly be misconstrued and used to the team’s detriment.
In New York, that will certainly work above and beyond the correct front office maneuvering.
Interestingly, there was one outstanding highlight—one that helps shine a light on Douglas’s mentality.
“I’m not going to be happy until we win the Super Bowl,” Douglas told the media early Monday afternoon while “progression” questions pelted him from every angle.
Douglas, 44, enters his first real full season with the organization. Hired after the 2019 NFL Draft, the 2020 campaign will be the man’s first with a full offseason under his belt.
From the jump, the building process has been about culture and, particularly, patience. When asked what the team’s natural progression should be in 2020, the young general manager did not flinch to echo the organizational theme of the moment.
“I think we’re going to be where our feet are,” Douglas said. “And right now we have a great challenge in going up and facing a divisional opponent that was in the playoffs last year. I know there are a lot of hungry guys who want to go out there and just prove a lot of people wrong, quite frankly.
“I’m excited for this week of practice, I’m excited for the season, and I’m excited about this group of guys going up to Buffalo this weekend.”
The united front remained firm when Gase was asked about potentially making the playoffs this season. In fact, identical verbiage highlighted just how connected these two are at the moment.
“We got a lot of time between now and the end of the season,” Gase said. “This week, we’re focused on being where our feet are. We’re always looking to be playing in January, but right now, we’re in Week 1.”
Answers about a great locker room and bringing in the right type of person were prevalent. Remember, Douglas’s culture-speak began on day No. 1 at the helm—in addition to his “it starts with the quarterback and both lines” old-school football formula he so gladly announced to the football-loving world.
Intangibles matter. An individuals’s story is important. A player’s heart is an entire attribute most folks overlook. The Ozzie Newsome pupil believes if enough good people are brought together, usually good things happen.
“I don’t know if there’s an exactly science to team chemistry, it sounds like an oxymoron, but if you get as many good people together as possible, usually good things happen,” Douglas said. “I think the common bond of this group is that these guys care, these guys want to win. You feel like everyone’s pulling in the same direction.”
Hoisting the Lombardi Trophy certainly qualifies as that “good” thing, and although Douglas is careful to play it in a boring manner and never give up too much information, he’s not shy about the ultimate goal.
“Look, everyone’s goal is the same at the end of the year,” Douglas said. “Everyone’s goal is to be holding up the trophy at the end of the year. To do that, you need to go through a progression. You need to get in the dance, you need to win the division, you need to win the conference, you need to win the whole thing, the Super Bowl, so again, we’re trying to get it day by day, week by week.”
The New York Jets season officially kicks off in six days, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET in Orchard Park, NY. It marks just another infant step en route to possible Joe Douglas happiness.
Joe Douglas will not be happy until the New York #Jets win the Super Bowl.
🚨Subscribe to Jet X (first month free): https://t.co/pqEImVgYI2 pic.twitter.com/81j65n0Yle
— Jets X-Factor (@jetsxfactor) September 7, 2020
Audio Version available to members only: Learn more here
