Insider notes on Jets' turmoil: Woody Johnson's son's meddling, Mike Vrabel's interest, outside the box remedy and more

Even the biggest pessimist would’ve never predicted it would be this bad. The New York Jets, a team some believed would go to the Super Bowl less than 24 months ago, have since fired their general manager, their head coach and may end up with just 11 combined wins the past two seasons. And once again they are on track for another top-10 draft pick. Adding insult to injury are the salacious stories about the owner’s behavior slowly creeping out.

So what’s true and what isn’t? Is there anything I can add? And what’s the latest word in league circles on the direction of the franchise?

Over the past month, there have been huge revelations on what’s gone on inside the Jets training facility in Florham Park, much of it centering Woody Johnson, the maligned owner of the Jets. Much of it is true. Some of it is absurd and almost laughable. All I can do is tell everyone what I know.

Jets owner's son Brick Johnson - the internet surfer

Back on November 21st, I retweeted a post from Albert Breer with my own quote. Breer’s tweet mentioned people who’ve worked for the Jets “feel like what’s said on the internet influences decision making. Non-football people have big voices.” The quote in my retweet was “it’s been mentioned for several years in league circles that Woody’s son Brick is the de facto general manager of the New York Jets, specifically when it comes to “Internet influences decision making.’”

What was I getting at? Well, you have to go back almost three full years to Senior Bowl week of 2022.

That Senior Bowl week was notable for a number of reasons, the first being that then-New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and his staff coached the National team. There was a lot of excitement within the organization, as the last time a New York Jets coaching staff did the same was 1979 when Walt Michaels led the North squad. Later that year, the Jets came out of the draft with two Senior Bowl players, Marty Lyons and Mark Gastineau.

The second reason it was notable was the fact that anybody who covered the New York Jets descended upon Mobile for the Senior Bowl; print media, internet, television, it didn’t matter, they were all in attendance. I dare say that Mobile never had so many New Yorkers in its city at one time. Finally, it was notable for the weather, which was horrible - cold and rainy every day.

My routine for the past 25 years at the Senior Bowl has me getting to practice a half hour early, looking to see who’s around and talking with people to get some gossip. Since the weather was so bad in 2022, I started each morning at the players’ hotel, and this is where the story gets interesting.

Before Day 2 of practice, I met a buddy who I’ve known for 20 years and has been a great source of information. We were joined by a well-known Jets beat writer who covers the team for one of the city's dailies; I won’t mention the name.

It just so happened that my buddy drove from Pensacola, Florida, to Mobile for Senior Bowl practice, which is about an hour’s drive, with none other than Joe Douglas, then-general manager of the Jets. There are several facilities in Pensacola that players use to train for the combine, so it’s not unusual for league people to make the stop before heading to Mobile.

Ex-Jets GM Joe Douglas' frustrations with Woody Johnson's son Brick

Recounting most of his conversation with Douglas, my buddy said the Jets general manager complained about Johnson for most of the ride. His biggest complaint? “Woody’s teenage son spends his life on the internet, scouring twitter to see what people are saying about the Jets. He then reports back to his father, who passes the information to Douglas.” The beat writer who was with us responded, “That’s Woody’s 14-year-old son Brick. We’re told he’s a handful!”

Truth be told, I was not informed of the context in which the opinions from Twitter landed in Douglas’ lap via Johnson. All I know was it bothered the hell out of Douglas.

The idea that the owner of any NFL team was taking opinions found on the internet that were passed on by a teenager seemed inconceivable, yet when I talked with others about the situation, they confirmed much the same.

So why not report the story in 2022? For one, there was a sense of optimism surrounding the Jets at the time, and the report would’ve been out of place. There was also the fact that a 14-year-old would be brought into the story and someone would have to answer for him, something I did not want to get involved with.

And while the story has taken a life of its own and gone in different directions, it is true that Johnson was being influenced by the internet opinions he received from his teenage son. It’s also true their opinions were passed on to the person running the team, Douglas. For a number of years now, I’ve been told that Douglas did not like or respect Johnson, and it’s understandable. Several people also told me Douglas turned down an extension the Jets offered him more than a year ago. And though I’ve not been able to confirm that, people tell me it would not surprise them at all.

What's next for the Jets?

Soon after firing Douglas, Johnson announced the hiring of former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum and business partner Rick Spielman, himself a former GM, to undertake the candidate search for the next head coach and general manager of the franchise. Many question the hiring of Tannenbaum and Spielman to do something they were never able to do, assemble a general manager and head coach capable of building a Super Bowl winning team. To his credit, Tannenbaum built a team that played in back-to-back AFC title games and was a half-yard away from making it to the big game in 2011.

Johnson has gone down this route in the past. In 2013, a hiring firm was used to find a replacement for Tannenbaum. John Idzik was hired as general manager, but he was soon fired after two disastrous seasons.

Johnson then turned to former NFL executives Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf to find a replacement for Idzik. This resulted in the hiring of Mike Maccagnan, a Casserly protégé who can boast being the only Jets general manager to post a winning record the past 14 seasons. Maccagnan is also responsible for drafting the best player on the Jets roster, Quinnen Williams. But after several disappointing drafts and a major rift with Adam Gase, the head coach he hired, Maccagnan found himself on the unemployment line after a little more than four years.

Interest for Jets HC job around the league

I’m told everybody and anybody has called wanting to interview for the job, including a lot of non-football people. The strategy from people, some who have no shot at the job, is “let me throw my hat in the ring and see what happens.” People tell me the Jets will be one of the last teams to hire the coach/general manager duo and that they expect a long process from Tannenbaum, who will interview everybody.

There’s also a feeling in the league that Johnson will have to significantly overpay if he wants one of the hot young names to lead the team, be it as general manager or head coach, due to the current state of the franchise, which has been described to me by several people as a cesspool. Otherwise, the Jets may be forced to recruit someone desperate for a job, which is what took place when they hired Gase.

The belief is that names being bandied about as potential general-manager hires such as Mike Greenberg of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Mike Borgonzi of the Kansas City Chiefs are unlikely to take the job and work for Johnson unless they are significantly overpaid. Ditto for Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who will once again be at the top of wish lists for teams needing a head coach.

Mike Vrabel as next Jets HC?

Mike Vrabel is a popular name among Jets fans as the team’s next head coach, but few in the league believe it will happen. The feeling is that Vrabel will use the Jets as leverage to get the job he wants at the salary he wants. Word is that the Las Vegas Raiders will make a run at Vrabel, but people don’t believe he wants that job either. Vrabel wants the New England Patriots job, people close to him tell me, but Robert Kraft seems intent on bringing back Jerod Mayo - at least at present time.

Potential next HC for Jets

There is an expectation from league insiders that Tannenbaum will recommend hiring someone he is familiar with and has worked with in the past, similar to the way Casserly recommended Maccagnan for the job in 2015 after hiring him for stints in Washington and Houston. Enter Rex Ryan, who many believe has a real shot at being named the next head coach of the Jets.

Ryan was head coach of those Jets teams that went to consecutive conference title games. He’s also an excellent defensive-minded coach, and people believe the fans will buy in if Ryan is hired. Many believe Ryan will succeed with a defense that looks good on paper where interim coach Jeff Ulbrich has failed since taking over.

For all those reasons, there are a lot of people in the league who think it’s the right move.

Outside the box thinking remedy for Jets

A source told me the Jets need to “think outside the box” and do something crazy such as offering Howie Roseman, the Brooklyn native who is presently Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, the keys to the franchise and an equity stake in the organization.

Sounds crazy, but it makes sense and may be necessary at this point.

Regardless of what happens over the course of the next two months, the Jets desperately need a change of culture in the building, something comparative to what’s gone on in Washington and Los Angeles. Yet no one believes that will happen as long as the Johnson’s occupy an office in Florham Park and have weekly meetings with those charged with running the team. That’s also a factor in why the franchise will lose out on talented decision makers.

Meanwhile Jets fans are getting angrier by the day. And who can blame them?

The Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers turned on a dime for the better in less than a year, changing the fortunes of their franchises for years to come with the right moves. Sam Darnold, the onetime future franchise signal caller of Jets, is now leading the Minnesota Vikings to the top of the NFC after busting in New York.

And all the while the Jets franchise is on the never-ending hamster wheel of rebuilding with an owner making decisions he is not qualified to make.