Shortly before he was fired in November 2024, Joe Douglas addressed the media at the midway point of the season, something Jets GMs often do.
And he said something about his job that was very revealing, and should have been a teachable moment for NFL fans around the league about how NFL teams generally work.
“Woody (Johnson) and I talk every day,” Douglas said. “At the end of the day, I think Colin Powell said it in a different arena: ‘I serve at the pleasure of the owner.'”
In other words, his power was limited.
The buck stops with the owner.
And that is true in most NFL cities.
So many decisions that we often blame the GM (or coach) for are made at the very top, and we are just not aware of it.
NFL GMs and coaches work at the “pleasure of the owner.”
While many fans don’t like to hear that, it’s the reality of how the NFL works.
Let’s say you are an Arizona Cardinal fan, and you don’t like that they hired Mike LaFleur as their head coach, don’t be so fast to blame GM Monti Ossenfort.
So many big team decisions are made by the owners.
It is what it is, but next time you want to trash the GM or coach for something going on with a football operation, consider this – they might not be making these decisions on an island.
The big guy (or gal) at the very top could be behind the decision.
Douglas said the quiet part out loud.
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