Why would anyone want the New York Jets’ head coaching or general manager job, you might ask? It’s simple, according to one NFL insider: Woody Johnson gives you time to build a roster.
Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz appeared on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and discussed the recent report in The Athletic about Johnson’s meddling in personnel decisions. Although Schultz acknowledged that Johnson is not hands-off, he explained why coach and general manager candidates might still want to take the Jets job.
“Christopher Johnson is probably more liked in that building than Woody. That being said, there are plenty of organizations that will not give their GM and head coach more than two or three years. They gave Joe Douglas six; they gave Saleh five,” Schultz stated.
He continued, “So a lot of people, agents are looking at this that represent coaches and executives and saying, ‘if I get the right type of personality in New York that can withstand that pressure cooker, he’s going to have the opportunity to build the franchise the way he wants.'”
Cowherd added, “I talked to Mike Vrabel, and Mike said, ‘I would take the Jets’ job, I just don’t know who the GM would be. I’d have to like the GM.'” This confirms a previous statement by ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
Schultz elaborated, “You have to get the GM right, you have to get the coach right, but if you can withstand New York, that’s a roster that is built to win right now.”
The pair discussed Olu Fashanu, Garrett Wilson, and Breece Hall as pieces the Jets could build around. They claimed that the Jets could actually trade down in the first round of the draft.
Schultz noted that the Jets have the sixth-worst winning percentage in the NFL since he took over as the Jets owner in 2000. However, although he is not perfect, “he is seen as someone who will let you develop the roster the way you want and give you time,” Schultz said.
Although some Jets fans may point to Johnson’s ambassadorship in the United Kingdom as the reason he kept Douglas and Saleh for so long, Johnson actually returned from his ambassadorship shortly after the pair were hired. Furthermore, it wasn’t the first time that Johnson allowed a regime to stay in place for a long time — often far longer than fans wanted.
Todd Bowles was the Jets’ head coach from 2015-18. Before Bowles, Rex Ryan stuck around from 2009-14 despite the team’s downturn of fortunes after 2010. Herman Edwards got five years (2001-05).
As general manager, Mike Maccagnan, despite many of his disastrous moves with the Jets, received four seasons (2015-18) plus the 2019 free agency and draft period. Mike Tannenbaum got seven years (2006-12) even as his draft picks steadily deteriorated. Terry Bradway had five years before him (2001-05).
When Johnson has fired someone quickly, it’s usually because he made a particularly egregious hiring mistake. John Idzik, architect of the infamous “Idzik 12” draft picks, received only two seasons. The same applied to Adam Gase after a 2-14 season in 2020.
The only coach or general manager whom Johnson arguably fired too quickly was Eric Mangini, who was canned following the 2008 season despite a 23-25 record, a playoff appearance, and a Brett Favre arm injury away from another playoff appearance. It was Mangini’s team that Ryan took to back-to-back AFC championship games in 2009-10.
(Perhaps you can argue Edwards did not deserve to be let go after three playoff appearances in five years, but coaches are often fired after a 4-12 faceplant season.)
In other words, in Johnson’s tenure, he has axed only three coaches or general managers after fewer than four seasons, and two of them were undeniably warranted.
That is considered a tremendous asset for an owner. For all of Johnson’s recent meddling in personnel decisions and seeming impulsiveness, he has a lot more patience than many other owners in the NFL. As much of a laughingstock as Johnson has become in the media, it is apparent that coaches and general managers around the NFL can cut through the noise.
Perhaps the Jets will have far more quality candidates for their open positions than most in the media would expect. Woody Johnson must get these hires right to give the franchise a chance to break its 14-year playoff drought and sustain success.
