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You’d have to think . . .
Where there’s smoke there’s fire, especially when a reporter goes on two different shows to make the point.
Former NFL GM, Mike Lombardi, who has sources all over the league, after working for various clubs over the years, said on VSIN on Monday:Â “The rub here is when the owner wants to fire an assistant coach and the head coach doesn’t want to do it. That’s happening at the Jets.”
And then he went into more detail on his podcast, “The GM Shuffle:”
“I hear the owner wants LaFleur gone and Saleh is digging in the trenches. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I heard the owner wants to get rid of the entire offensive staff,” Lombardi said.
The two reports were spot on, and Woody got his wish, as LaFleur was let go today.
And this brings us to an important point.
Both GM Joe Douglas and coach Robert Saleh, were hired by Christopher Johnson, when Woody was away from the team for about three years, working in Great Britain on an assignment from the government.
Woody and Christopher are very different people.
According to a league source, Christopher told Douglas and Saleh after hiring them, he was going to take a “light touch” as owner, in other words, allow them to do their jobs without meddling.
Woody is different, as the trades for Brett Favre and Tim Tebow illustrate.
Now it should be pointed out, by all accounts, Woody’s been less intrusive since returning from England in 2021, but this report from Lombardi perhaps is illustrative of a pivot back to his old approach.
And one thing with owners you always have to keep in mind is who has their ear?
While the owner talks to the football brass when at One Jets Drive, who has his ear when he’s away from the team.
Like in Indianapolis, people think that owner Jimmy Irsay’s daughter, Carlie, has his ear a lot.
Remember when Leon Hess fired Pete Carroll after just one season in 1994 to hire Rich Kotite? The story I heard was Hess was on vacation with his family on a Caribbean Island, and a report came on CNN that the Philadelphia Eagles had fired Kotite. Reportly, Hess’ daughter was close with Kotite and his wife, and suggested to Leon they should hire Richie.
I’m sure Leon’s daughter is a nice person, but perhaps she probably wasn’t an NFL coaching expert.
So who has Woody’s ear outside the building? I have no idea, but it’s something to ponder.
Now, with all that being said, clearly Woody and Jets fans had the right to be ticked off about how the team played down the stretch, losers of their last six games after starting 7-4.
However, it should be pointed out that, they should have beat New England twice, and Jacksonville and Detriot, but overmatched (at this point) Zach Wilson struggled in all four of those winnable games. I think Mike White wins those games. And don’t be shocked if White follows LaFleur whether he lands. The beatwriters and some fans don’t know how good White is, but LaFleur does.
While LaFleur and the offensive coaches clearly need to do a better job, do you blame them for Zach’s struggles, or do you blame others for over-drafting him and then rushing him into action? Once again, I’m not making LaFleur into Bill Walsh, but a coordinator can’t help a QB read defenses once the ball is snapped. At that point he’s on his own, and Wilson struggles mightily in this area.
LaFleur looked like a decent coordinator when White executed his offense on a high level against Cincinnati in 2021 and Chicago in 2022. That is what it’s supposed to look like, but clearly it hasn’t nearly enough.
Honestly, not sure Douglas would have left his job with Philadelphia to take the Jets GM job if Christopher wasn’t the owner of the team at the time.
I’m not saying Woody’s a bad guy. He’s not. He’s actually a very nice man, but he’s more hands-on than his brother, and remember, Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells both left shortly after Hess sold the team.
Belichick went to New England, where Robert Kraft threw him the car keys, and promised not to meddle.
January 11, 2023
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