A disappointing season for the New York Jets will not result in major changes, according to owner Woody Johnson.
The Jets have missed the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, and despite bringing in Aaron Rodgers last spring, there will be no postseason football for the franchise yet again.
We know what happened with Rodgers and how his Achilles injury derailed their playoff hopes, but despite a 5-9 record heading into Week 16, Johnson is happy with bringing back head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas for 2024.
“My decision is to keep them,” Johnson told the New York Post. “I think we’ve had some very positive moves. The culture of the team is a lot better. The defense is better. The offense needs a few pieces.”
After Rodgers’ injury, the team cycled through Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle, and Trevor Siemien at quarterback, resulting in limited success.
Changes in the head coach and GM position would be difficult considering Saleh and Douglas were a big reason why Rodgers wanted to come to New York to play for the Jets.
“Just to keep the continuity going with Aaron and the team we’ve got,” Johnson said. “Like I said a year ago, we need a quarterback. We had a quarterback for four plays. Since then we haven’t been able to replace him. If we have a good quarterback, it makes everybody’s job easier. It makes the line better, the receivers better.”
The Jets are 16-32 under Saleh, who is in his third season, while the team has compiled a 25-55 record since Douglas was hired as GM in 2019. There were high hopes heading into the 2023 NFL season, but they all blew up once Rodgers went down.
The 2022 NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year — Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner — have produced on both sides of the ball. And while the defensive side has been strong, the offense as a whole has struggled this season. The Jets rank last in the league with 13 offensive touchdowns and are a bottom-five team in both total passing and rushing yards.
By keeping Saleh and Douglas, it means the only changes in the offseason will be coming to the Jets’ roster. As Rodgers said this week on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the Jets need to add, not subtract.
“I believe in the leadership that we have here,” Rodgers said on Tuesday. “I believe in our guys. It’s not a situation where we have to rebuild. We need to reload a little bit and there’ll be some tough decisions. I like the pieces that we have in place.”
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Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
