The New York Jets are continuing to make front-office changes as their season slides further into the mud. The Jets have fired general manager Joe Douglas after five-plus seasons and a 30-64 record. Phil Savage, a senior football adviser in the Jets organization, will take over as the interim GM.
The firing of Douglas is the second major front-office shake-up team owner Woody Johnson and team president Hymie Elhai have cooked up this season. They fired head coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 when the team was 2-3. They’ve gone 1-5 since, which is part of why Douglas didn’t survive his turn on the metaphorical chopping block.
Firing Douglas is something slightly unexpected from Johnson. On the day the Jets fired Saleh, Johnson told the media that Douglas had put together “one of the most talented teams that has ever been assembled by the New York Jets.” Now that same GM is out of a job six weeks after Johnson made that statement.
As far as blame for the season is concerned, Johnson had no choice but to go with Douglas. He’d already fired Saleh and replacing the interim head coach would cause too much internal strife. That left either blaming quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which was off-limits despite playing considerably below par this season, or firing Douglas.
Douglas joined the Jets as general manager in June 2019 after spending several years with the Philadelphia Eagles as vice president of player personnel. The Jets have not had a winning season since they hired him. They are currently 3-8.