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As you know by now, the Jets hired Darren Mougey as GM.
“His partnership with Coach Glenn will revitalize this organization,”‘ Woody Johnson, who headed the search and made the choice, said in a statement.
While it’s good to have a positive attitude in life, obviously he doesn’t know that this pair will “revitalize” the Jets organization.
Isn’t that like a Joe Namath guarantee?
Who knows?
I have no idea how this pair will perform together (it’s an arranged marriage). I have no idea how the two men will perform individually in their respective jobs.
They have never done their new jobs before, so how could anybody know how they are going to do at those jobs?
That is why I’m not too big on criticizing or praising coach or GM hires when they occur.
How the hell do any of us know what is going to happen?
“I am proud of the thorough search we undertook and that it led us to the two best individuals to lead our football team going forward,” Johnson said.
Once again, time will tell if these are “the two best individuals to lead [the] football team.”
And there is nothing to be proud of yet. This is a results-based business.
The pride will come in the team doing well with these two guys leading the way.
That brings us to another point.
To help these two individuals “lead [the] football team” they need to be allowed to “lead [the] football team.”
According to a recent blockbuster in “The Athletic,” there were people aside from the GM and head coach making key football decisions last season.
“The Athletic” reported there were suggestions brought to the old football brass from blogs and video game ratings. Of course, it’s hard for me to confirm these anecdotes since I don’t know who the sources are, but what is that old saying, “Where there’s smoke there’s fire.”
So if Glenn and Mougey are going to have any chance of succeeding, they need to be left to do their jobs without constant interference from businessmen.
Now Johnson said to New York Post writer Brian Costello that he will let the new GM and head coach decide Aaron Rodgers’ future with the team.
“That’s going to be up to the coach,” Johnson said. “The coach will have to decide what the quarterback situation is. That’s going to be a very important job for the general manager and the coach – what do we want.”
Well that could be viewed as a sign that Johnson intends to back off his heavy involvement with football decisions, but this will only be proven moving forward.
Another old philosophical saying, “A leopard can’t change its spots.”
Will Woody be more hands-off with his new football leadership tandem? We shall see.
Some speculated he would get an ambassadorship, like he did in the past, which certainly would have led to a hands-off approach, but it didn’t happen so he will be around. Now that it looks like he’s not going anywhere, he will be spending a lot of time around his football team.
So we will not know if he will take a more hands-off approach and let his football people do their thing in an unfettered fashion until we see it.
It’s his team. He paid $635 million for it, so he can do whatever he wants, but the best approach to NFL ownership is to hire good football people and give them space to do their thing.
We will see moving forward if there is a sea change to Johnson’s approach.
If so Glenn and Mougey have a chance.
But none of us know for sure if they are good choices or will do a good job.
None of us are Nostradamus.
January 27, 2025
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