Dysfunctional New York Jets Culture Turns On Club Owner Woody Johnson
The knives are out around the New York Jets again, and now they're taking wild stabs at club owner Woody Johnson.
That's the newest chapter to a saga that has the Jets going from a team bragging about being a Super Bowl contender to a team conceding a total reboot is coming following the firing of head coach Robert Saleh last month, the firing of general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday, and the likely parting of ways with quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the offseason.
Woody Johnson Painted As Meddlesome
The Jets on Tuesday went in on themselves. Johnson fired Douglas, which by the way, was exactly the right move. Very few NFL general managers get to botch the drafting of a franchise quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick, never make the playoffs, and oversee a team with a .319 winning percentage and still keep their jobs – things Douglas somehow survived until Tuesday.
But following that move, club sources began leaking to multiple media outlets an ugly picture of Johnson, who fired both Saleh and Douglas.
That picture?
It paints Johnson as a meddlesome owner who demands strange moves, including the benching of Rodgers himself four games into this season.
It paints him as ordering the benching of some players, the trading of others, and as nixing trades of others.
It paints him as an owner who sets his opinion based on what he reads on social media.
And it paints him as someone who gradually but inexorably snatched away decision-making power from Douglas, leaving the former GM downtrodden and defeated.
New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas, team president Hymie Elhai, team owner Christopher Johnson, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, team owner Woody Johnson, and head coach Robert Saleh pose during an introductory press conference. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The Jets A 'Miserable' Workplace
OutKick has not been able to confirm most of the anecdotal testimony against Johnson. But The Athletic and ESPN on Wednesday made it seem as if Johnson has turned the organization into a "miserable" place to work.
The case those sources with agendas built against Johnson and then leaked to national publications is that Johnson talked to his management team about benching Rodgers but had to be talked out of it after one month of play this season.
It includes Johnson nixing a trade for Jerry Jeudy that would have sent Allen Lazard and a draft pick to the Denver Broncos.
So, if you believe the reporting, Johnson somehow wanted to keep one of Rodgers' most trusted receivers but wanted to bench Rodgers.
The reports also slime Johnson as the reason Haason Reddick skipped out on the Jets after being traded to the team in March because the owner didn't wish to give the edge rusher a new contract.
Aaron Rodgers will now play for owner Woody Johnson's team.
Jets Culture Is The Problem
All of these sins are pinned on Johnson in addition to his individual decisions of firing Saleh without consulting Douglas and then firing Douglas without really consulting others – which is a completely reasonable way of doing it when the GM is consistently losing.
And these stories, believe it or not, ultimately show not that Woody Johnson is the problem, but that the Jets have a disastrous culture problem.
Think of this: People within the New York Jets organization are leaking anecdotes to make Johnson, their employer, look like a clown.
That will suggest to some that Johnson is the problem.
It suggests to me the culture and people in the building are the problem.
And this is not the first time this happens. You'll recall when Zach Wilson, the quarterback Douglas drafted with the No. 2 overall pick, was asked to return to the starting lineup late last season, it was leaked that he initially didn't want to do it for fear of being injured behind terrible pass protection.
People in the Jets organization leaked their quarterback lacked courage in the ultimate NFL character assassination attempt.
Rodgers took that leak and what it said about the team's culture to task.
Then Saleh held a meeting urging members of the team to stop leaking. But the coach's request that leaks cease was leaked minutes later.
Stunning.
So the Jets are not only dysfunctional on the field where they're 3-8, but also within the organization. The problems, indeed, seem to start within the organization.
So, maybe Johnson indeed has a heavy hand with his team.
But it could be argued he should because the organization is out of control and now has a history of turning on itself and its employer.