When you think you’ve seen it all regarding the Jets’ stupid tricks, they came up with another beauty on Black Friday Night. It’s the exclamation point on why the team needs a reboot, and here’s what I think NYJ should do.
Get this: Jets quarterback Tim Boyle attempted a Hail Mary to close out the first half with nine seconds left. But instead, his pass got intercepted by Jevon Holland, who ran for a 99-yard touchdown untouched.
Let’s call this one a Fail Mary, shall we? I don’t know what was more absurd–the interception turned into a touchdown or the Jets’ lack of attempt to tackle Holland. The play was worse than the Fake Spike and Buttfumble, and it’s something no Jets fan will ever forget.
The play was the lowlight of the Jets’ 34-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium, and it was also the lowlight of what has been another horrible season for Gang Green, the type that can get a head coach and a general manager fired … and should.
Because Jets’ fans don’t have the benched Zach Wilson to blame, they will focus on Jets’ head coach Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas. It’s their team, and both have been here for a while. Saleh has coached the Jets for three seasons and is 15-30, and Douglas has been 24-53 as Jets general manager. They’ve lost 13 of their last 17 games.
Let’s face it: coaches, players, and general managers get judged based on results, and the results have been bad with this administration. That’s why housecleaning should be the next step for this star-crossed franchise.
There’s no doubt that Saleh should be gone. The team hasn’t been good under him; it has been undisciplined and poorly coached on game days. The Black Friday game was another example. The Jets didn’t try tackling Holland, so they were stunned by the Hail Mary attempt that turned into an INT. It’s an example of a poorly-coached team, something that’s inexcusable and should never happen. There’s more, too, including pushing and shoving after the Dolphins kicked an extra point to take a 27-6 lead in the fourth quarter. C.J. Mosley and Michael Clemons were flagged for personal fouls, with Clemons being tossed from the game for inadvertently contacting an official.
The Jets always find stupid ways to get penalties, which happens every game. The coach never calls them out publicly, and they still get playing time as if nothing happened. Saleh tends to act like he wants to be the players’ best friend. That attribute is great but can’t come at the expense of winning. He needs to lead by holding the guys accountable, and he doesn’t seem to do that.
All of this results in losses. Saleh should be gone as a head coach after this season. He had three years to learn on the job and hasn’t improved. It’s fair to wonder if he ever will. I know it’s not his fault the season turned into hell since Aaron Rodgers’s departure with a torn Achilles tendon after four snaps in Week 1, but there’s no excuse for this team to lose badly and be outplayed every game. Too often, Saleh has no answers to what’s going wrong and what he will do about it. He doesn’t exude much leadership on the sidelines and off the field.
That should make Jets owner Woody Johnson think long and hard about his head coach.
Meanwhile, Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas hasn’t been like his predecessors, John Idzik and Mike Maccagnan, because he has brought in young talent, like Garrett Wilson, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Jermaine Johnson, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Breece Hall, and Ashtyn Davis. But he also flopped on many picks, most notably drafting Zach Wilson as Jets quarterback, and getting a quarterback wrong in the draft gets a general manager fired. Plain and simple. He had only one chance, and he failed.
Then, Douglas doubled down on his choice of Wilson by not addressing an upgrade at quarterback after Rodgers went down. That choice is inexcusable. He wasted the Jets’ season by not making a move and hoping Wilson would figure it out. Furthermore, Douglas has struck out on free agents, hasn’t addressed the offensive line in his time here, and has signed players with a penchant for being undisciplined. That should get a general manager fired.
The Jets need to do whatever it takes to name Jim Harbaugh’s price and pay him to hire him. He is the only dynamic hire who can turn this franchise around. Enough of hiring coaches who are learning on the job, and enough of general managers learning on the job. The talent is there to make the playoffs next year. This team needs a head coach who knows what he is doing, and that guy is Jim Harbaugh.
Sure, he rubs people the wrong way and will likely be a short-term hire. No matter. This franchise isn’t in a position to worry about his baggage. They need to win, and it’s a win-now situation. If Aaron Rodgers does not like that, he can also go away. No individual should be bigger than the team, and it’s not like he has done anything for this franchise to get a say. But I guess that Rodgers will be more than willing to play for Harbaugh.
The opportunity to hire Harbaugh is there, even though there’s no guarantee he will take the job. But the Jets must still try. Woody Johnson should have had enough at this point, and I’m here to tell you that Jets fans certainly have.
