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Stumbled upon this on the Jets’ website, and found it noteworthy . . .
I was checking out the Jets’ staff directory on their website to see if somebody was still working there who I had no seen in a while. Found out he is not. This is not somebody on the football side.
But while looking around, I noticed something fairly interesting as far as the pecking order at the top of the staff directory page.
Obviously, CEO/Owner Christopher Johnson was at the top in his own category.
Then the category below, where you begin the list of everyone else who works for the organization, GM Joe Douglas is at the top of the list, and Team President Hymie Elhie is second.
Look, this might not be a big deal, it’s something that caught my eye.
So often you see the president position at the top of the food chain.
But whether this was a just a formality, or a conscious decision, it’s a pragmatic move to have Douglas as the most important person in the organization under the owner.
Elhai is a smart man, but he’s in charge of the team’s business operation, and we all know that in the NFL (or any pro sport), the business side is going to struggle if the team is struggling.
So, the most important person in the Jets’ organization right now is Douglas, especially since the Jets have missed the playoffs nine year in a row. That is clearly unacceptable, in a league set-up for competitive balance.
While it’s early, Douglas has a chance to be the best hire made by the Johnson Family since they bought the team in 2000. This was a slam dunk hire. He is a big-time talent evaluator with alpha dog leadership qualities.
If somebody is going to lead the Jets out of the desert, it’s Douglas.
And Elhai doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would view being listed under Douglas in the directory as personal affront.
Elhai is a extremely bright and capable, but is somewhat low-key, and probably doesn’t mind allowing Douglas to have more of the spotlight.
And the way the Jets corporate structure is set up, the team president, coach and GM are all theoretically equals and report to the owner. The president runs the business side, the coach coaches the team and the GM picks the players.
So it’s not like the president is lording over everything as the title might lead you to believe. The Jets president position could easily be called: “Vice President – Business Operations.” This isn’t meant as a slight, just pointing out that the Jets team president’s job handles all things business, and is not a football job.
But the bottom line is Douglas is THE most important person at One Jets Drive in the front office.
Not only does he need to hit free agency and the draft out of he park this off-season to improve the Jets’ roster, but must fix their football culture.
He should be the first guy listed.
January 20, 2020
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