INDIANAPOLIS — Joe Douglas is in his sixth season as the Jets’ general manager. Only Mike Tannenbaum, who held the job for seven seasons, has been with the team longer this century.
The Jets have a 27-56 record under Douglas, but have missed the playoffs in all five years of his tenure.
Douglas knows 2024 is now or never for him.
“We haven’t won enough,” Douglas said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “That’s obvious.”
Jets owner Woody Johnson put Douglas and coach Robert Saleh on notice a few days before the Super Bowl, saying: Now it’s time to leave. We have to produce this year. We have to produce this year. ”
That will put pressure on Douglas like nothing he’s ever faced before.
There’s pressure on NFL GMs year after year and day after day, but Douglas had the longest honeymoon ever experienced by an executive in this town. The honeymoon is long over and he now needs to win some games to save his marriage.
Douglas had his job drastically reduced. He took over in June 2019, but he couldn’t be held accountable for the 2019 team, so he wasn’t really to blame for that year’s problems. The following year, coach Adam Gase was blamed for everything. That led to a reset, the hiring of Saleh and the drafting of Zach Wilson as the new franchise quarterback. Douglas was given a pass for 2021 along with a new coach and quarterback. He has pressure to secure two top-10 picks in 2022, joining Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson as Defensive and Offensive Rookie of the Year, respectively. Last season was all about Douglas acquiring Aaron Rodgers in April, and he and Saleh basically got a mulligan after Rodgers was down four plays to start the season.
But there are no more mulligans or free passes.
Douglas knows that. The pressure is on him to fix the offensive line, and although he has poured resources into this area, he has been unable to find a solution. He now needs to find three new starters. They also need to add another weapon to the offense and have a backup quarterback in case the 40-year-old Rodgers goes down again.
The Jets need to make at least the playoffs in 2024 for Douglas to return to the scouting combine next year as Jets GM. He knows he has to deliver.
“There’s always pressure in this job every day you come to work,” Douglas said. “But I can say we’re not stressed. We’re ready to make the decisions that we have to make going forward here.”
The truth is, Douglas has done a lot of good at work. He took Seattle in the Jamal Adams trade, resulting in two of their core players in Ariya Berra-Tucker and Garrett Wilson. He added key free agents like DJ Reed and Tyler Conklin, who are key contributors. There was a better culture in the locker room than there was before he arrived.
The biggest failure was Zach Wilson, a pick that set his program back. Douglas was smart enough to move on after two seasons and acquire Rodgers. He made the mistake of keeping Wilson as a backup. Beyond Wilson’s failures, his drafts beyond 2022 have been underwhelming with some major failures in Mekhi Becton, Denzel Mims, and Elijah Moore.
The only New York general managers who have held the job longer than Douglas are Brian Cashman, Sean Marks and Lou Lamoriello. Cashman and Lamoriello have championships on their resumes, and Marks needs someone in the picture.
Typically, New York executives and coaches aren’t very patient. Douglas has plenty of time, but his patience is running thin.
“We just go out and do it,” Douglas said. “It’s time to win. Everybody knows it. It’s time to put our heads down, do our job and win the game.”
Advancing to the playoffs starts with Douglas’ commitment to improving this roster. He’s in a place he can’t afford. It’s either you do it right or you don’t.
