Jets Grounded Again

Well I’m honestly not sure where to begin. The New York Jets have beaten me down so bad that I’ve turned to writing a blog. Mostly because if my girlfriend or friends hear me talk about them anymore they might kill me.

So, here we are, another failed season. The 14th in a row, meaning for half of my life, the Jets have not made the playoffs. And yet they still have 5 more playoff wins than the Dolphins since 2001, odd.

It’s hard to look back on the last two years and not start pointing fingers at whose fault it is. Robert Saleh? Great guy but wasn’t a good fit at HC. Was he fired prematurely? Of course, he should’ve been allowed to play out the season unless the wheels completely fell off, which they did anyways. I’m not sure he’s the source of all the problems. Aaron Rodgers? Although AR didn’t play up to the standards that we were hoping, I don’t like the discourse that he was never fully bought in. He took a pay cut, embraced the city and gave the Jets his all after an injury that ends any other 41 year olds careers. If I’m pointing fingers they aren’t at AR. Joe Douglas? To me Joe Douglas did a great job with the Jets, but at some point you are what your record says you are and he could never get us over the hump. Went all in on the Rodgers move and paid for it in the end. But again, I don’t blame him completely.

Woody Johnson? I’ve been guilty of placing all the blame on Woody and quite frankly I think he should sell the team. That being said, not every owner in sports is dedicated to winning and no one can deny Woody wants to win and is willing to spend to do it. I personally think Woody needs to take a step back, let the football minds do the work and be happy signing the checks. Although I think he should take a lot of blame, there is one culprit that deserves more blame than anyone.

Aaron Rodgers’ Left Achilles?

If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t tear his Achilles on September 11th, 2023, there is a very good chance we are talking about all the people mentioned above in a different light. It would’ve been Aaron Rodgers, 1 year removed from back-to-back MVP seasons, with a top-five defense. Do I think we would’ve run through teams and won the Super Bowl? No. But I do think we would have been a playoff team 100%. They managed to win 7 games with Zach Wilson. You can’t tell me Aaron Rodgers doesn’t get us to 10 or 11 wins. If that happens Robert Saleh is probably still the coach, Joe Douglas is given a little more leash on building the roster, and Woody doesn’t have every Jets fan screaming for him to sell. Truly one of the biggest what if’s in sports history.

So where do we go from here?

Well unfortunately it is, again, time to clean house and start relatively fresh. Aaron Rodgers cannot be the QB next season, more because of the cap implications in 2026 than anything related to play. Let the new GM and HC come in and plan out their future. I’d love to see what Jordan Travis has when he’s healthy. If not we’ll probably be looking at a top pick in 2026 with a strong QB class coming in. Although I’m not convinced the Manning family would allow Arch to be a Jet.

There is some good news in this rebuild compared to 2020’s. I feel like we have some foundational pieces that we can build around already in the building. Garret Wilson is someone who I’d like to see signed to an extension as soon as the new GM comes in. He’s a winner and a great kid to have in the locker room. On the opposite end we have some great defensive pieces that we can build around. The Williams brothers, Jermaine Johnson. Will McDonald, and Sauce (yes Sauce even though he wasn’t his best this year) are great players who we can win with. We just need to hire the right coach…. Which they haven’t done in a very long time.

My pick like most Jets fans pick is Mike Vrabel, unfortunately I don’t think the Jets are his pick with the Patriots job opening up. Perhaps he’ll hold a grudge that they could have hired him last year. Or maybe Robert Kraft creating an entire documentary to diminish Bill Belichick’s accomplishments will make him think twice. But probably not. So who’s left after that?

According to the Jets interview list they are certainly doing their due diligence, I’m pretty sure if you’ve ever touched a football you’ve gotten a call to interview to be the HC. But I won’t fault them for wanting to get a lot of different looks. In an ideal world the Jets would be able to hire a CEO type guy that can flip the culture on day 1. You can see the difference a guy like Harbaugh has on an organization, the Jets desperately need a coach like that. Is that Aaron Glenn? It certainly could be. He’s been on part of one of the great culture resets in recent memory in Detroit. His defense has performed this year despite an abnormal amount of injuries. Most importantly, he’s someone who loves the Jets organization. But he doesn’t address the issue the Jets have had for as many years as I can remember, a creative offensive scheme. But maybe he could strike gold either way an OC hire.

Other HC candidates are as follows:

Rex Ryan: Please no, very rarely does 4 steps back lead to a step forward.

Brian Flores: Another strong no, just listen to his former staff and players about his time in Miami.

Josh McCown: Interesting for sure, but would like to see him as an OC, maybe for Aaron Glenn….

Ron Rivera: If this happens I’ll fall into a bottomless pit of despair.

Jeff Ulbrich: Sorry Jeff, the post Saleh era was such a disaster that you kind of disqualified yourself.

Joe Brady: Another interesting one, is he a good coordinator or does he just have Josh Allen?

Vance Joseph: Would be a typical Jets hire, I’ll be writing this same blog in 3 years if this happens.

Matt Nagy: Again, we’ve seen him as a HC. Is he a good coordinator or does he just have the best QB on the planet.

Brian Griese: Hand up, don’t know enough about him to have an opinion.

Bobby Slowik: Feels like his offense added more weapons but took a step back this year. Would’ve felt like a home run last year, now I’m not so sure.

Arthur Smith: Really…..?

Darren Rizzi: Really really….?

No matter what happens I can tell you this, I will convince myself it was the right move and that the Jets will be good next year. Cause that’s what being a Jets fan is all about. Having blind confidence leading up to Week 1 and then immediately realizing that you have no chance. But hey, maybe next year really is the year!

But I doubt it.