The New York Jets have officially fully cleaned house in their front office, parting ways with general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday after serving in the GM role since 2019. But as far as longtime NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay sees it, this move paints a picture of the failures of the Jets ownership more than it does of any shortcomings from Douglas.
Over the course of the Douglas era in New York, the organization failed to record a single winning season, with an overall record of 30-64 dating back to the start of the 2019-20 NFL season.
However, on Tuesday’s edition of The McShay Show, Todd McShay shared his opinion that Douglas had done everything in his power over the past two seasons to put together a winner in New York, adding that Jets’ owner Woody Johnson being “among the worst owners in the National Football League” certainly didn’t help matters.
“Joe will be fine, the Jets won’t,” said McShay. “And the reason I say that is because Woody Johnson is among the worst owners in the National Football League. If the Jets can’t win with Joe Douglas as the general manager and with the talent that is on that roster, the Jets can’t win, period. It’s an ownership problem, folks.
“There are certain decisions that are just made that it doesn’t matter what the general manager wants. There are certain decisions are just made that you have got to get on board with because one person pays the checks and one person oversees the whole thing.
“If you’re a Jets’ fan, you know exactly what I’m talking about. This is not news to you. I feel badly for Jets’ fans because if it wasn’t going to work with this regime, with that talent on the field… I don’t see much of a future in terms of where it’s going to be. Ownership is not going to change for a while is my guess. So how are you going to overcome this? And the answer is you probably don’t.”
My thoughts on the news of the Jets firing GM Joe Douglas. Full reaction available later today on the show. pic.twitter.com/OBucQhgpEX
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) November 19, 2024
It’s important to note that McShay and Douglas do have a relationship that dates back to the time they shared together as teammates at the University of Richmond in the mid-1990s, a friendship that seemingly remains strong to this day.
With that in mind, it certainly gives McShay a reason to defend Douglas from the majority of the blame for the Jets’ shortcomings.
However, that also doesn’t mean that some of McShay’s argument doesn’t have some merit. The Jets, of course, haven’t been to the postseason since 2010, which far precedes Douglas and his tenure in New York. In fact, the past three Jets’ general managers haven’t been able to get the organization back to the postseason.
McShay is clearly attempting to indicate that Douglas wasn’t fully in charge of the Jets’ roster construction, which may be a reason why the team hasn’t been able to achieve the success many expected each of the last two years.
Say what you will about Douglas and his lack of success throughout his tenure in New York. But on paper, this Jets’ roster did certainly look like a team that had the talent to contend for a playoff spot in the AFC.
One part of McShay’s analysis of the situation certainly appears to be accurate. The Jets now have an extremely uncertain and perhaps even bleak future with 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers at the helm. And now, it will fully be on Johnson to turn things around in New York now that Douglas is out of the picture.
