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On Monday, long-time New York Post Jets beatwriter Brian Costello wrote a column ripping Jets owner Woody Johnson.
Headline – “Woody Johnson has turned the Jets into a dysfunctional mess.”
“The Jets listen to the noise and let it influence them,” wrote Costello. “That leads to bad football decisions. Woody Johnson too often acts like a fan and that has been on display this month. The Jets are always worried about what fans and media are saying instead of having a sound plan and sticking to it.”
However, while some might agree with part of that, they might not agree with part of his premise.
Costello wrote: “Johnson fired Robert Saleh without seemingly consulting anyone involved in football operations.”
Costello continued: “Johnson should have talked to people who have the pulse of the locker room before ripping the heart out of the team by firing Saleh. This was not a head coach who lost the team. Players have privately and publicly expressed their love for Saleh since his firing. There was disbelief inside the locker room after Johnson made that move and they have not played well since the move.”
You mean the same locker room that lost to the Denver Broncos at home against a rookie QB who threw for 60 yards?
Costello added about the Saleh firing: “Johnson gave the Jets a punch to the gut and they have not recovered since.”
A punch to the gut to some players who wondered about accountability?
“I’m going to be honest, people get tired of hearing the same [expletive],” linebacker Quincy Williams said after the Jets loss to Minnesota. “People got to take accountability.”
“My first reaction to this is why the hell did they bring him back – what did he do to add another year,” said former NFL GM Mike Lombardi on VSIN. “The players were complaining we have no accountability..”
So the point here is not to criticize Costello, one of the first people with the gumption to anoint some of the blame for the team’s rough start at the doorstep of the owner, since he’s very hands-on with football decisions, a significant departure from his brother, who was hands off.
This was gutsy move by Costello, because unlike a general columnist or TV talking head, he has to face the powers-that-be with the Jets every day at Florham Park, and we can assure you the column about Woody didn’t go over well at 1 Jets Drive.
So while many might agree that the dysfunction needs to be cleaned up, and they shouldn’t listen to the outside noise, some might not be on board with the premise that the coaching change was an example of either, considering the accountability issues . . .
Very strange scene in the locker room today.
Haason Reddick, who just ended his holdout this week, was supposed to talk to the media today, but after a protracted negotiation with a PR person, he turned down the request, and said he would talk after the game.
And that might not happen if he doesn’t play. Remember, he missed the entire off-season, training camp and the first seven games, so some teams don’t like to put players out there immediately due to the risk of soft tissue injuries.
It’s not uncommon for PR people to go over to lockers, and try to convince relunctant players to talk to the press. It happens all the time, and it happened last week with WR Mike Williams, and that negotiation was successful. The Jets VP/Communications Jared Winley is excellent at these negotiations and is usually successful.
But the strange part of today’s protracted negotiation at Reddick’s locker was it involved somebody on the phone, something we have never seen before. The phone as being past between the PR guy and Reddick. Our best guess is that the person on the phone was his agent, but that would just be a guess.
The message we got after Reddick blew off the press was that he wanted to spend time with his teammates.
Cynics might say, he certainly didn’t feel that way the first seven games of the season. And also, a 5-10 minute media session wouldn’t have taken much time away from his teammates, and could have knocked out the interview during the 10 minutes he spent negotiation with the PR person.
It’s fair to say, and this isn’t a shot, that this guy marches to the beat of his own drummer.
October 24, 2024
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