In light of Joe Douglas' firing as General Manager of the New York Jets, The Athletic dropped a major bombshell that indicates that owner Woody Johnson may have had more influence on football related matters than was previously thought, even going so far as to suggest that Johnson recommended to coaches that Aaron Rodgers be benched following the Jets 10-9 loss to Denver in Week 4.
The story has taken a life of its own, with all fingers pointing back at the Jets as a likely culprit in the franchise's dysfunction.
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| Woody Johnson in the crosshairs. Getty Images. |
The story written by reporters Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt, with a contribution from Michael Silver, intimately details the goings on in Florham Park, and boy what a read it is.
The explosive story starts fast, in Week 4 when an angry Johnson suggested that Rodgers get benched.
"Johnson suggested to the coaches that they bench Aaron Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor because he felt Rodgers’ performance was holding the team back. The coaches and Douglas, stunned at the suggestion, talked him out of it and convinced Johnson to stay the course.."
According to the story, the coaches were so stunned by the suggestion, one coach asked Johnson if he was indeed "serious."
Ironically enough, a week later following the Jets 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings out in London, England, Johnson fired Robert Saleh as soon as New York returned, and did so without Douglas' imput.
The story goes on to say that Douglas' power was slowly getting stripped long before the events of October 8, two days after the Jets game in London.
"Douglas had a contract extension offer he was getting ready to propose to defensive end Bryce Huff’s agent, but Johnson vetoed that — and any other moves involving paying new money to players on the roster.
"By January, Douglas seemed to have even less control. That’s when he fired assistant general manager Rex Hogan, a move that shocked many in the organization because of how close Douglas and Hogan — and their families — were. Multiple team sources theorized that Johnson forced Douglas’s hand; in the aftermath, Douglas told Jets staffers that “Woody should just fire me now.”
One source even told The Athletic that it felt like the Jets were holding Douglas "hostage."
Johnson was also at the center of rejecting a trade that would have sent Allen Lazard to Denver for Jerry Jeudy; was instrumental in pushing for the signings of Tyron Smith and Mike Williams, and even helped create Haason Reddick's infamous holdout, because he didn't want to pay for a long term deal right away.
Oddly enough, Johnson also pushed to get the Reddick deal done in October, and also pushed Douglas to trade for Devante Adams according to the report.
Now Douglas is gone, some six weeks after Saleh went out the door. There is a belief that Aaron Rodgers will not come back next year either, and that the Jets are ready to move on.
What a nightmare created by Johnson. Granted someone will take the GM job, and someone else will take the Head Coaching job. There are only 32 of these in the world, and they pay well, but it is hard pressed to imagine at this point any top flight candidate with a resume to speak of, and options on the table, will choose the Jets with stories like this coming out.
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