{"id":138883,"date":"2024-12-19T19:50:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T12:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138883"},"modified":"2024-12-19T19:50:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T12:50:03","slug":"woody-johnsons-jets-madden-ratings-a-lost-season-and-the-most-dysfunctional-place-imaginable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138883","title":{"rendered":"Woody Johnson\u2019s Jets: \u2018Madden\u2019 ratings, a lost season and \u2018the most dysfunctional place imaginable\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By Zack Rosenblatt, Dianna Russini and Michael Silver<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Woody Johnson decided to do his own research.<\/p>\n<p>The New York Jets\u2019 owner was at his house in Palm Beach, Fla., last February, discussing potential offseason acquisitions with team decision-makers as they watched game tape. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, a former Denver Broncos first-round pick, flashed on the screen. Jets general manager Joe Douglas expressed interest, according to someone familiar with the meeting. Johnson took out his phone and started typing.<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks later, Douglas and his Broncos counterpart, George Paton, were deep in negotiations for a trade that would have sent Jeudy to the Jets and given future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers another potential playmaker. The Broncos felt a deal was near. Then, abruptly, it all fell apart. In Denver\u2019s executive offices, they couldn\u2019t believe the reason why.<\/p>\n<p>Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn\u2019t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy\u2019s player rating in \u201cMadden NFL,\u201d the popular video game, wasn\u2019t high enough, according to multiple league sources. The Broncos ultimately traded the receiver to the Cleveland Browns. Last Sunday, Jeudy crossed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n<p>Coming into this season, the Jets had hopes of ending the franchise\u2019s 13-year playoff drought \u2014 the longest in the four major men\u2019s North American sports \u2014 and quieting years of talk about the franchise\u2019s dysfunction. Instead, this season has only cemented the Jets\u2019 reputation.<\/p>\n<p>Head coach Robert Saleh was fired five games into the campaign. Douglas was fired six weeks later. Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5933645\/2024\/11\/19\/aaron-rodgers-woody-johnson-benching-jets\/\">suggested benching Rodgers due to poor performance<\/a> \u2014 a Jets spokesperson said the owner was \u201cbeing provocative. He made the statement in jest to see how it would be handled.\u201d A week later, the Jets traded for Davante Adams, the All-Pro wideout and Rodgers\u2019 close friend and former teammate in Green Bay. New York has stumbled to a 4-10 record and will miss the postseason for the 14th straight season.<\/p>\n<p>Another offseason of turnover awaits, and at the root of the franchise\u2019s problems is Johnson, who was characterized as an over-involved, impulsive owner in conversations with more than 20 people in and around the Jets organization \u2014 current and former players, coaches and team executives \u2014 who were granted anonymity in order to speak openly without fear of reprisal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey keep on doing the same thing over and over: they change the football people. The football people are not the issue,\u201d one former executive said. \u201cIt\u2019s, \u2018Hey, I have brain cancer.\u2019 And, \u2018Well, just cut off your foot.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson, who declined <i>The Athletic<\/i>\u2019s request for comment, soured on his franchise quarterback less than a year after betting big on him, denigrated his own players in the locker room and seemed to follow decision-making advice from his teenage sons, according to various team and league sources. And the proposed Jeudy trade wasn\u2019t the only time Johnson cited \u201cMadden\u201d ratings when evaluating players.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are organizations where it is all set up for you to win,\u201d said a player with the team in 2023. \u201cIt feels completely different (with the Jets). It\u2019s the most dysfunctional place imaginable.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Ahead of the Jets-Giants preseason finale at MetLife Stadium in 2019, an administrative assistant popped into the team\u2019s coaching offices to make an announcement to then-head coach Adam Gase and his staff. Woody Johnson, then serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom in the Trump administration, was temporarily returning from London. The assistant said everyone should refer to Johnson as \u201cMr. Ambassador.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That has held true long after Johnson left government and returned to his role as Jets chairman in January 2021, striking a discordant tone among those who believe the organization has long been plagued by mismanagement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess that\u2019s what you\u2019d call him,\u201d one assistant coach said. \u201cI\u2019d never been around royalty before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson is an heir to the Johnson &amp; Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, but he spends most of his working days at the Jets facility in Florham Park, N.J., and often meets with the head coach and general manager. When he bought the team in 2000, Johnson thought he was inheriting Bill Belichick as coach \u2014 hand-picked by Bill Parcells to take over before Parcells resigned. Belichick lasted only one day, scribbling \u201cI resign as HC of the NYJ\u201d on a napkin at his introductory news conference before bolting for the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n<p>The legendary coach has spent much of the past two decades torturing the Jets franchise, on the field and off of it. While out of coaching this fall, Belichick mocked Johnson in various media appearances (Belichick\u2019s camp also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5993794\/2024\/12\/14\/nfl-news-belichick-jets-kyle-shanahan-49ers\/\">reached out to the Jets about their head-coaching vacancy<\/a>). In an appearance on ESPN\u2019s \u201cManningCast\u201d during a Monday night game between the Jets and Bills on Oct. 14 \u2014 New York\u2019s first game since firing Saleh \u2014 Belichick described the owner\u2019s approach to running the organization as \u201cready, fire, aim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many who have been part of the Jets organization during Johnson\u2019s tenure heard that comment and agreed. Others pointed to the owner\u2019s words on Oct. 15, the day the Jets acquired Adams, when Johnson said, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZackBlatt\/status\/1846220388986245625\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Thinking is overrated<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWoody is just acting on instinct,\u201d said a current Jets executive. \u201cWith Woody, it\u2019s like, \u2018I\u2019m right \u2014 prove me wrong.\u2019 You just don\u2019t know what to expect \u2026 He\u2019s been right enough, just with his random opinions, that (a bad decision) doesn\u2019t dissuade him. And when he\u2019s wrong, who\u2019s gonna hold him accountable?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the annual NFL Draft, Johnson is known to keep to himself while decisions are being made, according to one former executive, then exit the room and retreat to a nearby snack bar with confidants to make \u201csmart-ass lines\u201d about the front office\u2019s decisions. Team decision-makers didn\u2019t appreciate Johnson\u2019s after-the-fact critiques, but the owner was occasionally proven correct: The executive remembers Johnson being especially vocal when former general manager Mike Maccagnan drafted quarterback Christian Hackenberg out of Penn State in the second round of the 2016 Draft. Hackenberg never played a regular-season snap for the Jets.<\/p>\n<p>Some inside the organization believe Johnson is consumed with the public perception of his franchise, sometimes at the expense of on-the-field success. When the Jets traded quarterback Zach Wilson to the Broncos last April, Denver asked Douglas to include the final pick of the draft (257th overall). According to a source familiar with the negotiations, Johnson instructed Douglas to instead trade the 256th pick \u2014 which the Jets also owned \u2014 so New York could select \u201cMr. Irrelevant,\u201d the final pick of the draft who is annually celebrated upon his selection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you believe that?\u201d the source said. \u201cHe thought he needed the Mr. Irrelevant pick to get a Brock Purdy (the final pick of the 2022 draft who has emerged as a franchise quarterback in San Francisco). I don\u2019t think that\u2019s ever happened in the history of the NFL: A team wanted a worse pick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Broncos used pick No. 256 to take offensive guard Nick Gargiulo, who is now on the Broncos\u2019 active roster. The Jets used the \u201cMr. Irrelevant\u201d pick on Alabama safety Jaylen Key, who didn\u2019t survive the final roster cutdown and is no longer on their practice squad.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson weighs in on matters throughout the organization, from lineup decisions (he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5933929\/2024\/11\/19\/joe-douglas-new-york-jets-gm-fired\/\">forced interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich to bench starting safety Tony Adams<\/a> in November) to the team schedule (he wanted the Jets to practice during their bye week, much to the chagrin of team leaders). \u201cHe\u2019s like most team owners,\u201d the team spokesperson said. \u201cHe asks questions of his staff to better understand what their plans are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour job becomes managing Woody,\u201d a current team executive said. \u201cThat\u2019s not unique for an NFL GM \u2014 the difference here is that not only are you managing Woody, but you have to manage all the people who influence him. That could be family, that could be media, that could be people in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6005692\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-6005692 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224008\/GettyImages-1790340287-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224008\/GettyImages-1790340287-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224008\/GettyImages-1790340287-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224008\/GettyImages-1790340287-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224008\/GettyImages-1790340287-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224008\/GettyImages-1790340287-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">An heir to the Johnson &amp; Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, Woody Johnson purchased the Jets for $635 million in January 2000. (Sean M. Haffey \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>When Johnson left for the U.K. in 2017, his sons, Brick and Jack, were 11 and 9, respectively. When he returned, they were teenagers. Last year, Johnson started including his sons in some meetings at the team facility. For some Jets employees, the sons\u2019 increasing involvement clarified their father\u2019s propensity for sharing posts from X and articles from various outlets, including a blog called \u201cJets X-Factor,\u201d with the organization\u2019s top decision-makers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we\u2019re discussing things, you\u2019ll hear Woody cite something that Brick or Jack read online that\u2019s being weighed equally against whatever opinion someone else in the department has,\u201d said one Jets executive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI answer to a teenager,\u201d Douglas quipped to people close to him before the season in an acknowledgment of the perceived power dynamic.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s reference to Jeudy\u2019s \u201cMadden\u201d rating was, to some in the Jets\u2019 organization, a sign of Brick and Jack\u2019s influence. Another example came when Johnson pushed back on signing free-agent guard John Simpson due to a lackluster \u201cawareness\u201d rating in Madden. The Jets signed Simpson anyway, and he has had a solid season: Pro Football Focus currently has him graded as the eighth-best guard in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>The Jets spokesperson disputed the idea that Brick and Jack\u2019s observations impact the organization\u2019s decision-making process. \u201cIt is used as a reference point; it is not determinative,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cIt\u2019s really sad that an adult would use a misleading anecdote about teenagers to make their father look bad. It\u2019s ridiculous, quite honestly, the idea that this was used to influence the opinion of experienced executives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(The sons) have no roles in the organization. It\u2019s completely ridiculous to suggest that any outside info is intended to replace the opinions of (Woody Johnson\u2019s) staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Johnson family\u2019s behavior inside the Jets locker room has also become an issue, according to team and league sources. NFL locker rooms are restricted-access spaces typically limited to players, coaches, team personnel and media members. But Brick and Jack have brought friends \u2014 male and female \u2014 into the locker room, and current and former players and coaches told <i>The Athletic<\/i> that Woody Johnson, his wife, Suzanne Ircha Johnson, and his sons criticized players inside the locker room.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, quarterback Mike White played through broken ribs in a late-season game against the Seahawks with postseason hopes on the line. White played poorly; the Jets lost and were eliminated from playoff contention. After the game, with the quarterback in the showers after throwing his helmet to the locker room floor, multiple Jets players said they heard Woody Johnson say, \u201cYou <i>should <\/i>throw your helmet, you f\u2014ing suck.\u201d The statement got back to White. The team spokesperson said Johnson apologized to the quarterback, who declined to comment for this story.<\/p>\n<p>In the postgame locker room after last year\u2019s Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, multiple players said they heard Johnson\u2019s sons loudly disparaging certain Jets players.<\/p>\n<p>This year, on Halloween night, the Jets registered their first victory since Saleh\u2019s firing four weeks earlier. It was a significant moment for a struggling team. Rodgers walked into an energized locker room with a game ball in hand, and it was expected that he\u2019d give the ball to Ulbrich, a customary gesture when a coach gets his first NFL win.<\/p>\n<p>But before Rodgers could speak, Brick Johnson took another game ball and awarded it to wide receiver Garrett Wilson in a profanity-laced exclamation, which the owner\u2019s son later posted to Instagram. Woody Johnson then gave Ulbrich the ball Rodgers had been holding. Multiple players said the energy felt drained out of the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was the most awkward, cringe-worthy, brutal experience,\u201d one player said.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>The high point of the Johnson-Rodgers marriage came at Rodgers\u2019 introductory news conference, when he spoke of the Jets\u2019 lone Super Bowl trophy \u2014 won in 1969 \u2014 looking a little \u201clonely.\u201d New York entered the 2023 season as one of the league\u2019s buzziest teams \u2014 and potentially Super Bowl contenders \u2014 and the Jets were selected to appear on HBO\u2019s \u201cHard Knocks\u201d during training camp. Johnson wore a custom-made chain featuring 80 carats of emeralds and diamonds spelling out \u201cWoody,\u201d a gift from star cornerback Sauce Gardner.<\/p>\n<p>Then Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth play of the season, and everything changed. Following surgery, Rodgers rehabbed with the goal of potentially returning at the end of the season, but only if the Jets were still in playoff contention.<\/p>\n<p>In Week 14, New York was mathematically eliminated with a 30-0 loss to the Dolphins. Rodgers preferred to rehab on his own in Los Angeles with an eye toward the 2024 season, but Johnson, according to team sources, insisted that Rodgers practice with the team, so the quarterback reluctantly returned to New York. When Rodgers was activated off injured reserve five days before Christmas, which resulted in the release of fullback Nick Bawden, Rodgers said on \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show\u201d that the move wasn\u2019t his idea.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a conversation: \u2018Do you want to practice?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Not at the expense of somebody getting cut.\u2019 I know how this works,\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I needed to practice to continue my rehab. I could do on-the-field stuff on the side. But obviously I got overruled there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several Jets players and coaches \u2014 Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall, in particular \u2014 were unhappy with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett throughout the 2023 campaign. There were rumblings that Johnson wanted to fire Hackett, so Rodgers, who considers the coach a close friend, brought it up with the owner at the end of the season. The conversation \u201cdidn\u2019t go over well\u201d with Johnson, according to a current Jets executive.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson ultimately didn\u2019t force Saleh to fire Hackett, as he had with Mike LaFleur after the 2022 season. In the offseason, Saleh tried to hire a veteran offensive coach to join the Jets staff and potentially reduce Hackett\u2019s role, speaking with Arthur Smith, Kliff Kingsbury, Luke Getsy and Eric Bieniemy. Rodgers got on the phone in an attempt to recruit, but each coach took jobs with offensive coordinator titles elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Before this season, according to a team source, Johnson demanded that Saleh\u2019s signature phrase \u2014 \u201cAll Gas, No Brakes\u201d \u2014 be stripped off the walls around the facility. \u201cAnother completely out-of-context and false narrative,\u201d the team spokesperson said. \u201cThat was removed as part of the entire organizational rebrand.\u201d Saleh later introduced a new team motto: \u201cLove and Regard,\u201d which was not displayed on the facility\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n<p>Rodgers and Johnson spoke on Oct. 7, just after the Jets lost to the Vikings in London to drop to 2-3, a game behind the Bills in the AFC East with Buffalo coming to MetLife Stadium the following Monday night. According to a team source, Rodgers implored Johnson to remain patient.<\/p>\n<p>The following morning, Saleh called Rodgers to let him know he was demoting Hackett and installing passing game coordinator Todd Downing as the new play caller. Rodgers made it clear to Saleh that he did not agree with the decision \u2014 so much so that Saleh told his staff to get backup Tyrod Taylor ready to play in case a banged-up, disgruntled Rodgers wouldn\u2019t, according to a team source.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly afterward, around 10 a.m. ET, Woody and Christopher Johnson, Woody\u2019s brother and the Jets\u2019 vice chairman, walked into Saleh\u2019s office. Woody told Saleh he was fired. Saleh asked why. Woody told him he didn\u2019t think Saleh could turn the season around and that the team needed a spark. Then the Johnsons walked out of the room.<\/p>\n<p>Ulbrich, installed as the interim coach, went forward with Saleh\u2019s plan to demote Hackett and managed to calm the waters with Rodgers, who hadn\u2019t been in favor of firing Saleh, according to multiple team sources.<\/p>\n<p>On the Dec. 3 episode of McAfee\u2019s show, Rodgers, in reference to the 12-2 Detroit Lions, talked about how much of a difference it makes when owners back their coaches and general managers both privately and publicly. The next day, he was asked by members of the media if he felt that Jets ownership operates in that way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that a rhetorical question?\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cI cited an example I\u2019ve seen. There were other examples in Green Bay, both for and maybe not, as for whoever was in charge. But I think it\u2019s an important part of ownership to hire the right guys, set the vision and support them when the outside world is trying to tear them down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On follow-up, he was asked again whether he believes that\u2019s been done in New York. \u201cI\u2019d have to look,\u201d he replied. \u201cI\u2019ll ask you guys, has there been a lot of public comments? Supportive comments?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The response from reporters that day? <i>Not really, there have been firings<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, there\u2019s your answer,\u201d Rodgers replied.<\/p>\n<p>The Jets kept the exchange out of the transcript of Rodgers\u2019 news conference.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>In addition to firing the head coach and general manager and suggesting the benching of the star quarterback, Johnson has pursued cuts across the Jets organization.<\/p>\n<p>This offseason, he forced Saleh to fire five coaches and wouldn\u2019t allow Douglas to replace former assistant GM Rex Hogan (who Johnson forced Douglas to fire in January). \u201cThe open role was used to re-organize the staff,\u201d the team spokesperson said. \u201cThe notion that he didn\u2019t want that position replaced is untrue. The responsibilities were filled by employees who deserved promotions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Jets didn\u2019t hire officials for training camp, a standard practice in the NFL, after being the most penalized team in the league in 2023 (they are the third-most penalized team in 2024). They did have officials for two joint practices with the New York Giants and Washington Commanders, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Several men from Johnson\u2019s investment group have been attending free agent, draft and other football operations meetings at Johnson\u2019s behest over the last year, according to a current Jets executive. They\u2019ve also interviewed Jets employees from across the organization about their roles and ways they feel the Jets can improve. \u201cIt was a positive initiative that identified real gaps in process and communication and collaboration,\u201d the Jets spokesperson said. \u201c(Woody Johnson) values the independent feedback. It\u2019s a way to avoid groupthink. We learned a lot from it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Multiple Jets employees refer to the group of men as \u201cThe Bobs,\u201d a nod to the condescending corporate efficiency consultants from the film \u201cOffice Space.\u201d The arrival of \u201cThe Bobs\u201d has only heightened a sense of dread around the building, where some employees don\u2019t feel like they can speak freely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no nice way to say what we need to say, which is: Unless we drastically alter our culture and the way we do things from the top down, we have no chance,\u201d one executive said. \u201cThere\u2019s not a comfortable environment where you can speak your mind and try to address things that could improve the situation. You have to tiptoe around it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Jets spokesperson disputed that characterization. \u201cThat\u2019s just a false premise,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201c(Woody Johnson) really just seeks out and welcomes feedback and debate. We wouldn\u2019t have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorkjets.com\/news\/jets-named-one-of-njbiz-s-best-places-to-work-in-nj\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">named one of the best places to work in New Jersey<\/a> if people thought that way \u2026 there\u2019s never been a complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6005695\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-6005695 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224150\/GettyImages-2190115351-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224150\/GettyImages-2190115351-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224150\/GettyImages-2190115351-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224150\/GettyImages-2190115351-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224150\/GettyImages-2190115351-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/12\/18224150\/GettyImages-2190115351-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Whether or not Aaron Rodgers will return for a third season in New York is one of the key questions facing the Jets this offseason. (Mike Ehrmann \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As recently as three-and-a-half years ago, there was a different atmosphere at Florham Park. Woody Johnson\u2019s absence during the first Trump presidential term meant that Christopher was running the show.<\/p>\n<p>Like Woody, Christopher Johnson was influenced perhaps too heavily by media coverage \u2014 one team source said he was known to lean on prominent media members for advice during his head coach and GM searches in 2019 \u2014 but the impression he gave to many in the building was that he wanted to give the keys to the people he hired and let them take the wheel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChris was really, really laid back,\u201d said a former Jets coach. \u201cHe\u2019s not a person with any type of ego. When he would talk with you, he was really a regular dude. He never, ever acted like he was the owner or he was in charge; he was just basically trying to get along.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Christopher Johnson hired Douglas (in 2019) and Saleh (in 2021), both were under the impression that, when he returned, Woody Johnson would take a similarly hands-off approach. They quickly learned how wrong that assumption was as Woody took control and Chris stepped back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not like he just disappeared, but you wouldn\u2019t know if Chris was in the building or even in the room with you,\u201d a former Jets executive said. \u201cHe\u2019s just so quiet and reserved. And that\u2019s not a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some Jets employees hoped Woody might retake his ambassadorship in the U.K. after Donald Trump was elected president in November, which would once again put Christoper in charge. But on Dec. 2, Trump nominated billionaire Arkansas investment banker Warren Stephens to the post. According to team sources, the decision came as a surprise to the Jets owner.<\/p>\n<p>As the Jets close the 2024 season, they\u2019ll enter an offseason promising wholesale change, familiar territory for an organization that hasn\u2019t found much stability since Johnson bought the franchise from Leon Hess in 2000. In 25 years, the Jets have employed eight interim or full-time head coaches (nine if you count Belichick) and seven general managers. They\u2019ll need another new head coach and general manager and must decide if they want to bring Rodgers back for what would be his 21st NFL season \u2013 if he wants to return.<\/p>\n<p>Those decisions remain Woody Johnson\u2019s to make.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson \/ <\/em>The Athletic<em>; photos: Chris Coduto, Matthew Stockman, Cooper Neil, Perry Knotts \/ Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6005172\/2024\/12\/19\/woody-johnson-jets-madden-sons\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Zack Rosenblatt, Dianna Russini and Michael Silver Woody Johnson decided to do his own research. The New York Jets\u2019 owner was at his house in Palm Beach, Fla., last &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138883\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}