If the former New York Jets employees cited in The Athletic’s latest Woody Johnson piece titled, “Woody Johnson’s Jets: ‘Madden’ ratings, a lost season and ‘the most dysfunctional place imaginable,'” are who we think they are, then the organization ultimately made the correct decisions regarding its football program leadership.
The article is authored by a near-complete WWE Survivor Series team of three: Dianna Russini, Zack Rosenblatt and Michael Silver. The trio delivers more reported transgressions to Jets Chairman Woody Johnson’s feet, continuing The Athletic’s long-running pattern of anonymous sourcing and hard-to-believe claims—most … or some … or little … or even none of which could be true.
Maybe?
I don’t pretend to know where the truth lies. I neither believe nor refute any and all of it. Yet, I’m also not foolish enough to halt myself completely by obsessing over every reported detail—some of which seem to evolve over time (i.e., reference the “Woody Johnson joke about potentially benching Aaron Rodgers” report, which the Jets have since gone on record as to label as a “joke”).
What I do know, however, are three distinct certainties:
- If the sources in this article are who we think they are—the former Jets employees, whose camps are in the midst of injecting a heavy dose of “damage control”—then Woody’s call to ultimately fire the previous regime was the right one.
- No matter where the truth precisely lies, Woody Johnson did, indeed, make critical mistakes. Had he avoided those mistakes, he wouldn’t be faced with this current situation.
- No matter the screeching noise and loud thumps, only one thing matters to Woody and the Jets at this very moment.
It’s that last certainty, No. 3, that must remain near and dear to Woody’s heart throughout the entirety of his head coach and general manager search.
The only thing that should matter to Woody Johnson and the New York Jets is hiring the right people to lead the football team.
It begins with genuine leadership
For those unaware, I’m also a high school football coach, in addition to my Jets X-Factor “blogging” duties. Regarding how The Athletic referenced Jet X as a “blog,” well … it’s pretty damn ridiculous.
By any objective measure, Jets X-Factor is anything but a blog. It’s a fully credentialed platform with an in-depth editorial process leading the charge. No article is self-published or posted without at least a pair of editing eyes having done its job.
We also feature a team of active writers consistently in the double digits, which is no small feat for an independent platform that has never had an ounce of financial backing, yet consistently attracts upwards of 750K monthly readers.
No matter Jet X’s qualifications, hey … I get it, my near-Survivor Series-complete tag-team friends (just one member shy of a full pay-per-view squad). This is an industry in which words are the greatest weapon, and the use of “blog” moves the needle that much more—en route to accomplishing the goal of the piece, to hammer Woody as much as humanly possible.
If Woody’s sons, Brick and Jack, are bringing him content from a “blog,” as opposed to a “credentialed platform” co-owned by a high school football coach who’s fresh off a New York State Championship, it sounds that much uglier.
Let’s be honest: Woody’s sons sending “blog” material instead of “credentialed media” content turbocharges fans’ frustration and anger. Understood.
Digital media fundamentally boils down to emotions, and, due to certain circumstances, the Jets currently have the most emotional fanbase in sports.
At the same time, choosing “blog” was a tad shortsighted, as it sort of “gives away the game.” As opposed to earnestly learning about who Jets X-Factor is, the verbiage was instead chosen in an attempt to make Woody Johnson look worse.
I mean, was that necessary? How close to the sun do we want to fly?
Oh yeah, and why is there no attributable link to the Jets X-Factor home page, or even the example of the content Woody received, that supposedly drew the ire of the football decision-makers whose credentials are above reproach?
I mean, sure, The Atheltic didn’t exactly cite anything from Jet X specifically, but you’d like to think, given their self-described journalism-done-right tagline (I paraphrase), The Athletic would at least give their readers an easier opportunity to judge Jet X on its own merit (via a clickable link).
Hey, I wish the Jets would have plucked more of the ideas the Jet X writers have penned to paper (digitally speaking) over the years.
Whether it came from my brother and co-founder (yet sometimes nerdy) Michael Nania, my other brother and co-owner (yet oftentimes off-the-rails) Joe Blewett, the amazing (yet stubborn) Rivka Boord, or any one of the tremendous writers here at the site, the Jets would have actually been wise to take even more notice.
Nania warned the Jets not to sign Dalvin Cook. Blewett could see from a mile away that signing Javon Kinlaw would be a flop. Boord foresaw the Jets’ offensive line costing them their 2023 season if they did not make a serious effort to fix it.
When Mike LaFleur was so quickly scapegoated, I couldn’t help but sound the alarm bells. Was this firing the first crack in the armor, so to speak, as it related to Woody putting his hands into the business of the current regime? Although there’s no evidence the regime was forced to fire LaFleur, challenging that plausible idea was at least an important talking point.
Perhaps, had the Jets understood that Robert Saleh’s ultra-conservative vision simply didn’t jive with the realities of today’s NFL, Woody would have made the correct decision earlier than he ultimately did. Although Zach Wilson could have very well busted no matter where he was drafted, Saleh’s backward mentality left zero room for potential growth and confidence.
In any event, the critical point has nothing to do with Jet X. It instead deals with the idea that anything and everything we produce be kept away from the New York Jets’ football decisions.
To that proposition, I say, “Sure.”
Let the media cover the sport, and let the experts within that sport make the decisions.
To be fair, if an owner or anybody in his camp brings a piece of media content to the attention of decision-makers, it’s still up to them to make the right call. If a leader truly is a leader, such nonsense never enters the picture.
Leadership is, by far, the most important factor when running a football program.
Shortly after winning the New York Class B NYSPHSAA state championship with Port Jervis, NY, I did something of a rarity on social media: I opened up to the world a bit, as it concerned my other life (coaching). Without an opponent to think about, help game-plan for, and with the season officially complete, I could not help but share how I felt about the entirety of the Port Jervis team—led by a must-have-genuine-leaders undertone:
In my humble yet not-always-correct opinion (but pretty damn correct a lot of the time … yes, I’m a funny dude), the only way a football program can find success is through the following:
- 1. The clear hierarchy must be a dictatorship, with one individual above all else.
- 2. Yet … this dictatorship cannot run as a clear dictatorship.
There can only be *one* at the top, yet that one must assume a role somewhere between autocrat and chairman of the board. And that’s exactly what Damien did. Once realizing that structure, it boils down to this:
- 1. Having the confidence to allow the coaching staff to do their thing, flourish, grow, etc.
- 2. Genuineness.
Although an autocrat at the heart of the matter, this HC has the stones and confidence to let his guys flourish. This idea, in action, spreads like wildfire throughout the locker room, to the players, in a leadership-to-leadership-type fashion.
On the second idea, well, I don’t care what anybody’s football knowledge may be; if the man at the top isn’t *genuine*, not a semblance of success is possible. Period. Kids see through the fraudulent voices quicker than a 100m between Usain Bolt and Refrigerator Perry. And if the man at the top isn’t genuine—and is fearful of showcasing any one of the infinite types of emotion—it just ain’t gonna work. Period.
Port’s headman is the genuine article, as is the entire staff.
Shout out to Port Jervis head coach Damien Striharsky, the Stellatos, the entire coaching staff, and, most importantly, every player on that roster (Dylan Fox, Carroll Dolshun, Anthony Theodore, Na-Shawn “Mookie” Campbell, Maddox McCormick, and so many more).
Although high school ball is a far cry from the league that plays for pay, the lessons learned in the leadership department wholly translate.
This is to say that Woody Johnson cannot make the same mistake that the former head coach and general manager are currently making—if they are indeed involved in the unnamed sources per The Athletic piece.
He’d simply prolong an era of disingenuousness that currently has New York Jets fans on serious watch.
Woody’s missteps
As nuanced as I encourage New York Jets fans to remain when consuming content about their beloved team, is as black and white as the New York Jets Chairman should act regarding his football operation. Sure, think critically on a day-to-day basis while always trying to fill in the gaps, but do so under the correct football hierarchy.
Hire the correct football leaders. Then, get out of the way.
I’d bet everything I own that Woody would not try to convince anybody that he’s infallible. I’d also bet that he’d be willing to own up to his own mistakes (and that he can identify those mistakes).
To me, the Rex Hogan firing started it all. It was the moment that signaled Woody Johnson’s loss of confidence in his football leaders.
In late January 2024, the Jets suddenly announced the firing of assistant general manager Rex Hogan, Joe Douglas’s right-hand man. According to the gobs of anonymous reporting that have hit the digital media landscape, everything goes back to that point.
Yet, nothing (or very little) prior to that point has been referenced.
What’s the deal here? Did Woody Johnson actually not meddle in the Douglas-Saleh regime’s affairs for three long years? Based on who we think might be conducting damage control here, you’d think the reporting would cover a more vast time period than just one calendar year.
Strangely, however, the anonymous voices only start at that precise time period—when Hogan was let go.
Woody’s mistake was simple: He needed to fire Douglas and Saleh the moment he lost confidence in them.
Although nuance is critical in many aspects of life, it simply does not work from a football hierarchy perspective. There must be one dictator who’s tough enough to realize he is that autocrat yet stable and confident enough to act as the chairman of the board. Once the hierarchy is firmly in place, this leader must then be genuine enough to create and maintain human connections.
What happened in the last year is a fine example of what not to do.
Mr. Johnson took the halfway approach, which, on one hand, is understandable. Aaron Rodgers’s Achilles injury is seemingly the protagonist in why he traveled down the road. Therefore, with Rodgers wanting to run it back with the same people, Woody concedes.
Human nature did not allow him to steer clear enough. Asking yourself to stay away from individuals who have already lost your trust is setting yourself and the entire process up for failure.
Criticize the man for his recent transgressions, sure, but don’t make the claim that he’s consistently meddled throughout his tenure as owner.
Joe Douglas is a man who, I still believe, did a tremendous job with personnel here. However, I think he failed in the other areas that were so critical to winning on the field.
Specifically, he hired the wrong head coach. Instead of recognizing that and letting the owner know that was indeed the case, he lived in the foxhole with the sideline boss.
On one hand, that level of loyalty should be respected. On the other hand, at some point, the obvious on-field struggles that scream a lack of accountability, innovation, and flexibility must lead to a genuine and emotionally-led conversation with your head coach.
It’s a required talk that appropriately sends him towards the exits. Such is life as the New York Jets general manager.
Although Woody seemingly bought into that foxhole mentality for a bit, trying to convince himself he had the right guys, let’s also arrive at this party with a level head. Remember how much time the previous regime actually had at their disposal.
Douglas, hired in 2019, had ample time to turn this ship around. As much as I stand by his personnel decisions, he did not get the job done—even prior to Woody’s meddling. The same can be said for Saleh, whose 20-36 winning percentage ranks third-worst in franchise history (when including all who coached at least one full season).
Rex Ryan stormed on to the Florham Park, NJ scene in 2009 to thunderous applause. Yet despite a disappointing 8-8 season in 2011 and a 6-10 mark in 2012, he still received two more cracks at it (six in total).
Mike Tannenbaum recently told Jake Asman on ESPN Radio New York that Woody never meddled once during his seven-year run as Jets general manager (2006-2012). Remember, this is a man who caught on with the Jets in the Parcells era, so he was there to experience the pre-Woody organization with Leon Hess.
In full disclosure, I did not like the Jets’ decision to hire The 33rd Team as the party to help find the next football leaders. I like the idea of Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman, personally and specifically, but I felt that hiring a media organization could muddy the waters a bit.
How does a media outlet even cover the Jets when it’s also a direct employee? Even further is the idea that it’s been tasked with the most critical search and decision this organization has faced in a long time. The idea that The 33rd Team now has two separate departments is fine and dandy, but let’s not pretend it’s been a long-established structure.
All of this is stated for transparency purposes. Even if I’m not a fan of hiring the actual company in name, officially, on paper, Tannenbaum is a former Woody employee who jumped at the chance to work with him again.
Such a toxic atmosphere wouldn’t prompt former employees—who were fired—to jump at the chance to offer help in an advisory role, would it?
(Shoot … there I go again, thinking too much. I promise, folks, I’m working on it. … Or maybe, just maybe, Tannenbaum is a secret Madden god on the sticks, and we simply haven’t yet put the pieces together. Could it be that Madden is the key to this new-found and reunited match made in heaven? Ok, enough; my thinking is now turning off.)
Goodness gracious, Suzyn and John, Mike Maccagnan ran five NFL drafts as general manager. For goodness sake, the first 11 years of the Woody-owned Jets produced upper-third NFL results.
Sure, Bill Parcells’s stamp on the culture helped spark a fondly remembered decade of the 2000s, but a certain new owner was also there. In Woody’s first 11 years owning the franchise, the New York Jets made the playoffs six times, won the division once, and appeared in two AFC championship games.
Criticism slung towards Woody is warranted, but let’s keep things in perspective. In short and as of late, he’s acted like a desperate owner who so badly wants to win, which mirrors the fans’ sentiments. The problem is that the fans don’t exactly realize or ever see his desire to win games and field a successful football program.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Woody Johnson deserves to take his medicine from you, the fans. Let’s just make sure it’s the right dosage, as he and the team have much larger fish to fry in the coming 30-45 days (finding the next GM and HC).
Still, no matter his true emotions, Woody must maintain a proper perspective while taking the time to breathe and shake the stench of desperation. After all, he’s currently in the midst of the most important decision of his Jets career.
How much does it actually matter?
Just two short years ago, the Houston Texans were a complete and utterly dysfunctional mess. The reported (and factual) ugliness surrounding the McNairs embroiled them in several sensational stories with which no NFL organization wants to be associated.
Not a single Texans fan felt good about the future.
That was until the franchise got it right.
Houston hired the genuine article in DeMeco Ryans, and it drafted quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Kansas City Chiefs are viewed as the model organization of today’s NFL. Yet, their on-field success wouldn’t have you know that the team’s players openly despise the owner.
In the 2024 NFL Players Association survey, the Chiefs’ players rated owner Clark Hunt with an F- grade, the worst of any owner (or ownership group) in the NFL.
Is it my imagination, or did James Dolan flee the country? The way in which he simply escaped the public eye is pure mastery beyond anything a near-Survivor Series tag team can do. (After all, those nefarious tag teams have the goods when distracting those bone-headed refs.)
It was, no doubt, my silly imagination. Instead of fleeing the country, the then-most-hated man in the Big Apple still resides in these parts, yet he flies so under the radar due to one certainty: He finally got it right.
Dolan finally hired the right people, Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeau, and New York Knicks fans are as ecstatic as they’ve been since 1999.
For Woody, now is not the time for games, payback, damage control, or disputing the details. Quite frankly, the details do not matter.
This moment is precisely when the Jets Chairman must quietly go about his hiring procedure business while simultaneously getting back to football hierarchy basics.
What are the human qualities your football team needs most?
What are the human emotions your fans desire most?
Start there. Then, once the correct humans are identified, move on to the football stuff.
Have the confidence to embrace the hat-in-hand concept to some degree and the genuineness to show the fans just how much you care—without putting on an actual … “show.” Above all, seek the right qualities in the next leader and/or leaders of your football program—led by genuineness.
Woody, only one thing matters: Hire the right football leaders.
Once that finally happens, none of this craziness matters.
Editor’s note: The Athletic’s piece referenced in this article is attributed here, as opposed to the opening line, where and when it’s first mentioned, and where Jet X would usually and properly place it. Due to written-about specifics—much of which can be read in this article—the editor deemed it appropriate to locate the attribution below the article. (It’s not as though The Athletic needs the source, per traffic and/or recognition; it’s just a matter of setting the record straight as it relates to the correct detail of journalism and/or digital media.)
Author’s note: Additionally, for full transparency, Robby Sabo and Jets X-Factor hold no ill-will towards The Athletic. Zack Rosenblatt has always treated me well, personally, and I admire his work. I don’t know Dianna Russini or Michael Silver—apart from potentially being in the same room with them at times—but I’m a fan of theirs as well.
