Jets fire general manager Joe Douglas; Woody Johnson names Phil Savage interim GM
NEW YORK — More than a month after Jets owner Woody Johnson fired Robert Saleh, he has made another change.
Johnson fired general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday after five-plus years at the helm.
“Today, I informed Joe Douglas he will no longer serve as the general manager of the New York Jets,” Johnson said in a statement. “I want to thank Joe for his commitment to the Jets over the last six years and wish and his family the best moving forward.”
Johnson named former Browns general manager Phil Savage the Jets’ interim GM for the rest of the season. Savage has been the Jets’ senior football advisor since 2019.
Douglas was in the final year of a six-year contract he signed in June 2019. During his tenure with the Jets, Douglas finished with a 30-64 record. Johnson said in his statement that the Jets would immediately begin the process of finding a new general manager.
Douglas was hired to replace the fired Mike Maccagnan. The Jets hoped Douglas could rebuild their roster and help lead them back to the playoffs.
However, during Douglas’ time with the team, the Jets never recorded a winning season. He had some draft success, including selecting wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, who won the 2022 NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards. He also selected edge rusher Jermaine Johnson and running back Breece Hall in the same draft, but a black mark on Douglas’ record was he never solidified the quarterback position.
Douglas selected Zach Wilson second in the 2021 NFL draft. However, after a 12-21 record and passing for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions, the Jets traded Wilson to the Broncos last April after three disappointing seasons. Another big miss under Douglas include the 2020 drafting of first-round pick offensive lineman Mekhi Becton, who was often injured during his four seasons with the Jets.
Douglas also engineered the blockbuster trade that brought Aaron Rodgers to the Jets in April 2023.
The Jets had multiple quarterback options but decided on Rodgers after bringing in his former offensive coordinator from Green Bay, Nathaniel Hackett, and signing his former teammates, Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb. But none of those decisions worked out.
Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into the 2023 season and missed the rest of the year. The Jets finished 7-10 for the second consecutive season after Wilson was forced back into the starting role for most of the season.
Rodgers and the Jets are also struggling to find any success this season. Through 11 games, the Jets are 3-8 entering a bye this week. This was after the Jets had aspirations to play in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
After a 2-3 record, Johnson fired Saleh on Oct. 8 and made Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich the interim coach. Ulbrich then demoted Hackett and made passing game coordinator Todd Downing the offensive play-caller for the rest of the season.
When Johnson fired Saleh, he told reporters that this year’s Jets team was the most talented during his 25-year tenure as owner, which put even more pressure on Douglas.
Douglas hired Saleh in 2021, but he was not consulted on Saleh’s firing and Johnson was the one who made the decision. Since Ulbrich became the interim coach, the Jets have a 1-5 record.
On Nov. 6, Douglas was asked about being excluded from Saleh’s firing, but he refused to discuss the details.
“Woody 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, so my single goal is to help this team get to the goal of a championship, so obviously, again, not the start that anybody envisioned.”
After this latest overhaul, the Jets will look to rebuild their organization completely. This will be the first time since 2015 that the Jets will hire a general manager and a coach in the same offseason.
Johnson has fired Saleh and now Douglas. All that’s left is to blame the play of Rodgers and the rest of the Jets players for their disappointing record.
Rodgers has looked like a shell of his MVP days in Green Bay. He lacks the mobility and passing accuracy people have become accustomed to seeing from him. With all the organizational changes, Rodgers is likely the next person to leave Florham Park.
Next season will be the final year of Rodgers’ contract, but the Jets will not owe him any guaranteed money. If the Jets release Rodgers or he retires, they would have a $49 million salary cap hit in 2025.
