On September 13, SNY reporter Connor Hughes, who is a rising star in the business, wrote in response to a fan question about whether Jets ownership would consider an in-season coaching change: “The Johnsons just don’t believe in making an in-season change because they do not believe it fixes anything.”
When I read that, my first reaction was that philosophy might not apply equally to every season.
Because if you have a stacked roster, a weak schedule, and a franchise QB who might not play much longer, you have to take advantage, in a league, with a hard cap, which is all about windows of opportunity.
The Jets have many key young players locked up this year on reasonable deals, and that might not be the case after this season. They don’t have a daunting schedule, and future Hall-of-Fame QB Aaron Rodgers is under center for them now, but who knows how much longer?
I never call for anybody to be fired. Never have, never will.
All I’m saying is that something was amiss this year, and it looked like the Jets might be blowing a golden opportunity to end their playoff drought. So the owner’s decision to make a coaching change, to perhaps avoid wasting a season where the stars seemed to be aligned, isn’t necessarily a knee-jerk move.
Robert Saleh is a good man, and these decisions are never easy. However, before this “window season” spiraled out of control, Jets owner Woody Johnson decided to try something different and go with Jeff Ulbrich as the coach.
And also cast aside a reported philosophy that probably doesn’t apply to every scenario.
If you have a rookie QB and myriad weaknesses on your roster, perhaps it doesn’t make a difference to make a change.
But considering all the things the Jets have going for them this year, QB, roster and schedule-wise, maybe it will.
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