Woody Johnson Decision to Stick with Saleh and Douglas the Only Decision

Woody Johnson has decided to do things the Aaron Rodgers way. 

Hours before the Jets wild 30-28 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, the Jets patriarch spoke to the New York Post that both Head Coach Robert Saleh and General Manager Joe Douglas would return for the 2024 season. 

The decision by Johnson -- while not surprising -- came just a couple of days after quarterback Aaron Rodgers endorsed Saleh, Douglas and Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. 

The decision was met with mixed reactions from fans, many of whom want to see the Jets change course this off-season, but that would be really tough to do. 

 

The Jets went all in on Aaron Rodgers, and a big reason why he came to New York had a lot to with the current Jets brains-trust. Changing it now would upset the apple card, and create total chaos. 

Plus look around the NFL. Are there any really outstanding candidates out there? Sure Ben Johnson, the Lions offensive coordinator is highly touted, but will he be a great Head Coach? That remains to be seen. 

Over the last several years the NFL has drained the pool of quality candidates for head coach and GM to the point there aren't many great options left. 

The best thing the Jets and Woody Johnson could do is stand pat and hope that lessons were learned from this disappointing/missed opportunity of a season. 

Saleh himself acknowledged that there were mistakes made with regard to the quarterback position (no kidding). The Jets need to go out and a quality veteran quarterback (like Jacoby Brisset who torched the Jets secondary on Sunday for Washington) who can come in should Rodgers suffer yet another physical setback. 

The Jets entrusted their 2023 season into Zach Wilson, and refused to deviate from that plan. That falls on both Saleh and Douglas.

Douglas let his blind love for Wilson cloud his judgement. He should have gotten a solid back-up to be there if something happened to Rodgers. He failed in that mission. 

That doesn't mean he and Saleh haven't don't good things in New York. They have. They changed the culture here. There is true talent on this roster. The defense is top notch. The special teams is great. They have Pro Bowlers in Garret Wilson, Breece Hall and Quincy Williams. They need to lock down their Pro Bowl kicker Greg Zuerlein and linebacker Bryce Huff to contracts this off-season. 

There is work to be done. And the best way for the Jets to do that right now is to stand pat and let the men who made those mistakes, realize them, and fix them immediately. 

There will be no mulligans a year from now.