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Things have been amiss, but it wasn’t due to spending and facilities.
Robert Saleh made a strong statement recently about the financial commitment made by the Jets’ owners to the football operation.
“It starts at the very top in terms of the investment made into the organization that give each player and coach the resources they need,” said Saleh.
This is 100 percent true. The issues that have led to 10 straight years out of the playoffs are not related to spending and infrastructure. The Jets have a first-class $75 million practice facility with all the bells and whistles.
“Thankfully with the Johnson family, they are unlimited in what they want to do and what they want to give, with regards to helping these players get better,” Saleh said. “The investment they’ve made to the performance staff, the investment they’ve made in and around the facility, the investments that they’re making with regards to free agency. It’s an unlimited deal. There’s a tremendous support system there.”
This is all true. The training facility is state-of-the-art, with cutting edge medical and training equipment, the grass fields are so flat you can practically cut a diamond on them (this takes a lot of work and money) to prevent field injuries, which uneven fields often can cause. Their is a full kitchen and catering staff to feed the players healthy meals.
And the Johnson have always spent on players.
The issue have never been related to facilities or being unwilling to spend on players.
The problems have been related to two things – business people getting involved in football decisions, and also hiring the wrong coaches and GMs.
Now they seem to have the a strong GM/coach combination, and with the business people seemingly out of the football mix, with a new corporate structure, with Joe Douglas becoming the football czar, and the coach reporting to him, the Jets might be poised to leave the abyss.
As long as the business people don’t meddle with player decisions, like trading for Brett Favre, or signing Darrelle Revis as a mea culpa to the fans when he was past his prime.
Reading the tea leaves, you get the sense that this kind of meddling is in the past.
So with the right football people in charge, and great facilities/support staff for the players, the Jets could be poised for success in the near future.
“Players are here to go play football and it takes all 53 players who put the helmets on, it takes everybody to be able to cross the white (lines) and go dominate it on Sunday,” Saleh said. “For them to be able to do that with a clear mind, with every resource needed that helps them build up to that moment when they’re on their own, and the organization can no longer do anything. We rely on them. Everything in between has to come from us. Quarterback, running back, defense, offense, it doesn’t matter. It’s our job to help them prepare. It’s our job to coach them. It’s our job to put them in the best situation possible, so they can always be getting better every single day when they walk into this building.”
The Jets are set up to do.
But honestly, the facilities, infrastructure and spending have never been the issue under the current owners.
It was hiring the wrong football decisions makers, and occasional meddling to make splashy football moves to perhaps grab the back pages of the tabloids. But those days look to be in the rear view mirror.
May 12, 2021
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