'We Have To Produce This Year!': Angry Jets Owner Woody Johnson Issues Playoff Mandate?
Woody Johnson has always been someone to deny putting playoff mandates to his New York Jets franchise each year.
This year might be the lone exception.
© Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com
Speaking at NFL Honors night in front of a slew of reporters, the New York Jets owner made it clear that last season's poor 7-10 finish was unacceptable in his eyes, even if they lost their starting quarterback four plays into the season opener
"The discussions we’ve had the last couple of months, they’ve seen me about as mad as I can be,” Johnson said.
Johnson bought the Jets back in 2000 and has seen his team reach the playoffs just six times since the turn of the century. Gang Green has missed the playoffs in the last 13 seasons - the longest drought in North American sports. While head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas were not around for each year of futility, the mix of poor performances in the last three years has put each on the hot seat.
It was evident in Las Vegas Thursday night that the long-time owner is sick of being reminded of that dubious distinction.
"They all got the message," Johnson explained. "This is the time to go. We have to produce this year. We have to produce this year…. It’s not a playoff mandate, but we have to do a lot better than seven (wins).”
So why not make a change in the coaching or front office staff if the owner is that upset? Well, in Johnson's mind, last year's struggles had more to do with the team's starting quarterback than anyone else.
"We need a backup quarterback. We didn’t have one last year.”
The remarks come as an obvious rebuttal to the performance of former second-overall pick Zach Wilson. The BYU product was benched midway through the season and threw just eight touchdown passes. With Wilson at the helm, the Jets were historically bad in third down and red zone offense.
At one point in the season, the Jets had gone through 11 quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Still, for an owner to openly state his displeasure at a quarterback still under contract is surprising, to say the least. It also is a clear sign that the Jets will be moving on from Wilson later in the offseason.
If Saleh and Douglas aren't careful though, they could be joining Wilson if the wins don't turn around in 2024.
