Jets opt for continuity in bringing Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh back for 2024 — and it makes some sense
Jets head coach Robert Saleh talks with quarterback Aaron Rodgers before a game against the Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: /Lee S. Weissman
Jets fans have a right to be bothered and bewildered about all of it — the decision, the timing, the process.
It’s all just . . . weird.
Woody Johnson saying before the third-from-last game of the season that general manager Joe Douglas and coach Robert Saleh will be back is strange enough, given Douglas’ botching of the quarterback depth chart and Saleh’s 16-32 record entering the day.
But the truly bizarre part is the fact that a player who is tied in career Jets completions with Fireman Ed and Joe Benigno called this shot.
Once Aaron Rodgers publicly endorsed the current regime, most recently on Pat McAfee’s ESPN show on Tuesday — “I believe in the leadership that we have here,” he said — the assumption was that nothing would change.
And nothing will, which the owner made official Sunday in a pregame chat with the New York Post.
Here’s the thing, though: No matter how wrong all of this seems in the moment, there is a certain logic to it. No, really.
As long as the Jets are all-in for 2024 with a 40-year-old quarterback coming off Achilles tendon surgery — and who went 8-9 with Green Bay in 2022 — they might as well be all-in up and down the line.
If Rodgers is comfortable with Douglas, Saleh and coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, give him Douglas, Saleh and Hackett.
If Douglas, Saleh and Hackett are comfortable with Rodgers, give them Rodgers.
These guys are in this together and will go up or down together next season. If we are back in the same spot at this time next year, Johnson will be singing a different tune or will face a fan revolt.
So all the Jets can do is sign a competent backup quarterback, try to add more pieces around Rodgers — especially on the line — and hope for the best.
The Jets did show on Sunday that they still are playing for Saleh, blowing a 20-point halftime lead against the awful Commanders at MetLife Stadium, then eking out a 30-28 victory.
But most fans are far beyond caring anymore, at least about this season.
There were hundreds of empty spaces in the parking lots and the stands were far less than half full, even on an unseasonably warm afternoon for Christmas Eve.
Three hours before the game, one could buy a ticket on the secondary market for $9 — including service fees.
It was a far cry from Sept. 11, a late-summer Monday night on which Rodgers debuted and optimism reigned.
In early winter, most people stayed home for the holiday.
“It’s been tough,” said Eric Kozofsky of Hampton Bays, who wore a Sauce Gardner jersey his girlfriend, Joann White of Hampton Bays, got him for a recent birthday, along with third-row tickets. “It’s tough being a Jet fan.”
White said that when Rodgers still was holding out hope of playing against the Commanders, she suspected a marketing ploy.
“I thought it was hype to get people to come to the game,” she said. “Why would they take a chance to play him now?”
Rodgers and the Jets eventually agreed with her, a rare instance in Jets World of clearheaded decision-making.
After the game, Saleh said Johnson had shared his decision with him before making it public.
“Always appreciative to get Woody’s support,” the coach said, adding, “There’s going to be a lot of excitement to go and attack this thing again.”
But he did note the obvious — that he must improve.
“There’s going to be a lot of things that I have to reflect on and acknowledge and get better at,” he said, “not just with myself but globally, and this offseason make sure we’re attacking it.”
Players mostly reacted to the Douglas/Saleh news with verbal shrugs, saying it was not news to them. They expected as much, and welcomed it.
“It’s going to be cool to see how everything continues to grow,” Breece Hall said.
Said C.J. Mosley, “His message doesn’t change. I believe in him; the veterans on this team believe in him.”
Mosley said the certainty is a bonus with two games to play. “That’s one thing once the season is over you don’t have to worry about,” he said.
Johnson cited continuity in deciding to keep the team’s football leadership in place. That the Jets will have, and in that narrow regard, this makes sense.
But still: Is more of the same what anyone should be looking for around here?
See you in 2024 . . . everyone!
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
