In the 2017 offseason—after Mike Maccagnan’s failed “aggressive rebuild”—one unnamed executive told NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah that the New York Jets had the “worst roster [he’s] seen in a decade.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s sophomore Jets campaign didn’t yield anything closely resembling that of the 2015 FitzMagic year. Instead of shattering the record books further, Brandon Marshall was just an aging wide receiver in a young man’s game.
After two seasons, Maccagnan would finally do things correctly—by building from the bottom up—thus leaving all the “laughingstock” tags that came with cutting David Harris and Eric Decker behind in the dust.
First and foremost, the Jets needed a general, and as luck would have it, the consensus on the best quarterback in college would be the top pick in the 2018 NFL draft: Sam Darnold.
Therefore, “Suck for Sam” became the rallying cry. That was until the Josh McCown-led Jets started the season 3-2, providing excitement while also dashing any “Suck for Sam” hopes in the process. Suddenly, the future plan for this organization fell by the wayside.
That was until fate happened.
Finishing 5-11 under Todd Bowles, Baker Mayfield surpassed Darnold in the mocks, and Maccagnan traded up to No. 3 in the draft. Unbelievably, the Jets put themselves in a position to draft the USC signal-caller, and that’s exactly what transpired.
Neither Bowles nor Adam Gase could get the ghost-seeing gunslinger on track, and Joe Douglas moved Darnold to the Carolina Panthers en route to a brave Zach Wilson-led future. After all, Darnold was, indeed, a bust. He failed just like Geno Smith before him and Mark Sanchez prior. Even Zach Wilson couldn’t get that tightly gripped monkey off the franchise’s “cannot find a legitimate quarterback” back.
Oh, but there’s more; there’s so much more.
Failing in Florham Park, NJ isn’t just relegated to the youngsters. These days, it’s four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers who can’t get the job done. He has miserably fallen short, just like Josh McCown before him and Ryan Fitzpatrick previously.
Better yet, in a way that only Jets fans can feel at least somewhat comfortable with (if “comfort” is how one describes utter disgust and frustration), that man, the California surfer dude on whom the franchise once pinned its entire hopes and dreams, most recently entered his locker room to thunderous applause and brotherhood.
Not even Sylvester Stallone could replicate such a defy-the-odds script featuring a fighting underdog.
Cue those Jets fans’ thoughts: “What in the actual … ? Can you actually believe this? What the hell is even that? My heart hurts.”
In what dimension have we slipped into?
The same guy whose feet couldn’t remain still for a mere second, who saw 17 defenders on the field at once (without counting the ghosts), and who contracted the damn kissing disease on the verge of a new season, is now met with a true hero’s welcome in another NFL locker room? Is this reality?
In 16 games, Sam Darnold has 4,153 yards and 35 touchdowns (to just 12 interceptions) on a 68.1 completion percentage. Yes, you read that cleanly. (Oh, that’s right; silly me … He’s also 14-2 as the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback.)
Now, after so many words said and emotions uncontrolled on public forums, many Jets fans suggest their beloved organization bring free-agent-to-be Sam Darnold back to the organization.
The only appropriate reaction to that is the following quick question: Are you out of your tortured minds? That’s actually nuttier than all the recent Rex Ryan dialogue.
Granted, a Darnold-Jets reunion wouldn’t have to flop akin to the first go-around, but it’s a fruitless thought if the surfer dude is coming back to a similar situation he experienced the first time. Is the entirety of the Vikings atmosphere also coming? Is the best play-caller in the business, Kevin O’Connell, jilting the Vikings for the Jets?
I don’t think so.
Think about how Darnold’s hero welcome happened. After the Green Bay Packers reeled off 15-fourth-quarter points to cut Minny’s lead to just two points, the Vikings got the ball back with 2:18 to go in regulation (with Green Bay still owning all three timeouts).
What O’Connell did here is what cements him as the best play-caller in the NFL:
- First and 10 (MIN 30-yard line, 2:18 remaining): Play-action slide, 12-yard C.J. Ham reception (first down, 2-minute warning).
- First and 10 (MIN 42-yard line, 2:00 remaining): Cam Akers rush attempt for -1 yards (GB timeout No. 1).
- Second and 11 (MIN 41-yard line, 1:57 remaining): Play-action boot, 9-yard Justin Jefferson reception (GB timeout No. 2).
- Third and 2 (GB 49-yard line, 1:49 remaining): Play-action slide, 6-yard Cam Akers reception (GB timeout No. 3).
In four nut-crunching plays, O’Connell allowed Darnold to throw the ball three times. All three came on play-action boots/slides, and only one of the three was even closely contested (Jefferson). Remember, Darnold threw a pretty rough-looking interception earlier in the second half.
Now, that is how you coach and call plays in the modern National Football League. Always take what the defense is giving you, no matter the concern about stopping the clock, and never rely on your defense to win the game.
That is also how you build confidence in your quarterback—something none of the Jets head coaches in recent memory were ever willing to explore in this quarterback-driven league.
Jamming the harshest salt into the freshest wound, let’s not forget that Kevin O’Connell is a former Jet himself. Oh, also, that Josh McCown guy is his current QB coach, which brilliantly pairs him with Sam Darnold (mirroring a similar teacher-pupil scenario the Jets proudly featured in 2018).
If Jets fans aren’t aware of what plagues their team by now, nothing will convince them otherwise. Jets fans are still fighting about Aaron Rodgers’s production, whether or not Zach Wilson would have worked out, and even whether Sam Darnold is the real deal.
Why?
It’s the atmosphere under which these guys perform that matters most. Without leadership and legitimate coaching that fits today’s modern football landscape, I don’t care if a carbon-dated Johnny Unitas circa 1958 suddenly emerged as the Jets’ best option; under the current situation, for lack of a better descriptor, he too would have fans arguing about his true merit and value.
At this point, the pain is immeasurable—and I’m not even sure if “immeasurable” aptly describes fans’ emotions. The torture is near-fictional and beyond any brutality ever witnessed in the history of sports fandom.
Only the Jets could witness their star quarterback (Vinny Testaverde) go down in a season when the NFL world had them pegged as the clear Super Bowl favorites.
Only the Jets could experience the very same injury to the very same position (Aaron Rodgers) a quarter-century later—for a team whose hype was unmatched.
Only the Jets could then have that Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback lead one of the “most talented rosters in the league”—as was universally described—to a disastrous 4-12 record in the first 16 games.
Oh, but it doesn’t end there, not by a long shot.
Only the Jets could promise a future head coaching position to a man, only for that same man (Bill Belichick) to suddenly spurn them. Only the most emotionally affected fanbase would then be tortured to watch that man win six rings en route to G.O.A.T. status (in the minds of many).
Only the Jets could lure one of the greats of all time to the franchise (Bill Parcells) and have a significant chunk of the fanbase despise him despite the fact that he set them up for great success in the decade that followed.
Only the Jets fanbase can unreasonably yet understandably pine for a coach (Rex Ryan) who directly represents the beginning of the end—as it relates to the current state of affairs that’s led to 14 straight seasons without playoff action.
Only Jets fans are tortured to the level that sees one of their previous franchise hopes (Sam Darnold) now excelling with another organization—all while their own team is the worst-coached team in the land.
Folks, my dear New York Jets fans, my people … This game of football is a beautiful thing, and those who play it are our heroes and villains. They collide and gracefully elude the opposition in a way that’s oftentimes indescribable.
Not even the most talented artist can properly express that beauty—unless the canvas he or she is working with allows for the possibility of such visuals.
No sport depends upon those who create the canvas more than football. Players only reach heights and ceilings that are created by the team’s upper-level hierarchy, and a quarterback like Sam Darnold (and Geno Smith for that matter) exemplifies that like no other.
Yes, this pain has reached levels of sheer silliness. In a way, it’s not just cruel; it’s surreal in ways that are tough to verbally communicate. Although it’s strange to call it surreal, thanks to a lifetime of misery this organization has provided, the agony of recent memory reaches that “surreal” level.
A fan’s emotions that hit or boil up when watching the Vikings’ new quarterback hero enter the locker room is just the capper in a long line of cruelties.
Not only did you have to suffer through the horrendous disappointment of the Achilles injury in 2023, but you then had to experience the NFL world laud your roster as one of the most talented groups in the league, only to fall flat on its face with the quarterback in tow.
What’s going on here? Was the entire world wrong about the level of talent the Jets’ possessed? Or, could there be a much more simple ill at play?
Either way, yes, this is pain beyond reason and punishment for just existing. I get it.
Yet, at the very least, the hurt each New York Jets fan feels now has led to one crucial silver lining. It’s the lesson that should never have fans arguing about such minutiae as Aaron Rodgers’s latest performance. Zach Wilson’s true potential, or Sam Darnold’s actual franchise quarterback stature.
The New York Jets have a leadership problem. Leadership is the absolute building block for making everything possible in football.
Without it, proper production is impossible.
Without it, winning is impossible.
Without it, a fan’s clearheadedness is impossible.
The New York Jets fans’ frustration, anger, hurt, and pain has reached a level of epic proportions—one that makes no mistake about the problem at hand.
The infrastructure is rotten to the core. Now, Woody Johnson must hire the same so-called savior Leon Hess did in 1997.
It may have taken the universally lauded “arguably best roster in the league,” a Hall of Fame quarterback falling on his face, Geno Smith success in Seattle, and a locker room hero’s welcome in Minnesota to get there, but New York Jets fans have finally arrived at the real and oh-so-critical final destination.
There can simply be no doubt or confusion.
Woody Johnson must find his one true football leader. He must find the football boss who doesn’t just exist on the sideline and in the building but owns those areas.
Other than that, there really isn’t much to argue about. Plus, there isn’t much else anybody needs to know.
Well, except this: Zach Wilson for 2028 NFL MVP. Book it.
