Joe Douglas will not appear in any pantyhose commercials, nor will he be seen in Florham Park wearing a fur coat or social estrangement outside an Upper East Side bar after midnight.
But now, following the safety of the stars, Jamal Adams, leaving town, and after nine consecutive seasons without a playoff spot, the Jets desperately need this general manager to be the kind of leader in the front office. the one Joe Namath was in. once in the field … until I can get more help from Sam Darnold and pass him the baton.
Don’t worry, Jets fans – this is the right man for the job.
Even after Adams tore Woody Johnson apart for those alleged racist and sexist remarks, even after he kneeled Adam Gase for his leadership skills, even after pleading with Cowboys players to help him become a Cowboy, even after Adams criticized him for lying and if he didn’t communicate, Douglas would still have tried to make amends with Adams when training camp started on Tuesday, he would have tried to find a way to work and turn him into a Jet For Life, in the best interest of the franchise.
“I never promised Jamal or his agent an offer, nor was I dishonest or ambiguous in any communication with his camp. … I feel like our communication was very clear from the start, “said Douglas.
That makes him the big man here, in every possible way, and Adams the little man.
Adams can now happily be Seahawk For Life because a pair of No. 1 picks, a No. 3 pick, and safety Bradley McDougald unhappily and a No. 4 pick was an offer that no rebuilding GM would ever have in their right mind. deny.
“The responsibility falls on us to attack these teams in the future,” said Douglas.
Of course it is. Douglas gets rave reviews too early for his first Jets draft, tackle Mekhi Becton, wide receiver Denzel Mims, and learning at the feet of former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman He must offer legitimate hope that he will have a better batting average with his four first-round picks in 2021 and 2022 than John Idzik and Mike Maccagnan previously had, even if that task becomes more difficult if there is limited or no college football due to to the pandemic.
“He is the scout of the scouts,” current Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said last year. “He knows how to find players, and he is able to explain and describe them to people, not with a lot of ego, not with a loud voice, but in a very sensible way.” As an executive, that’s what you want. “
It would have been a Namathian miracle, of course, for Douglas to fix everything that afflicts the Jets in their 15 months on the job.
Douglas will be looking for a few good men, rather than a few good men, to fill the locker room with players with the intention of being part of the solution rather than the problem that is central to building a winning culture.
“Each person deserves to be judged on the content of their individual character, and there is no room here for people who think otherwise,” said Douglas.
Surely that would have been his message to Adams if there had been no exchange. Coupled with the fact that it would have been fiscally irresponsible to show Adams the money, over $ 15 million in average annual value, with two years remaining on his deal during a pandemic, especially when Darnold will need a big ticket extension after the season , Yes there is one.
“So with the uncertainty of not knowing what the full economic picture would look like, we just weren’t in a position to do anything right away,” Douglas said.
Another big item on Douglas’s agenda in the future will be the fate of Gase, who has a lot to prove.
“I especially believe in Coach Gase. I feel like he’s the right coach to lead this team, ”said Douglas.
We’ll see. Meanwhile, Douglas believes he has a hungry and motivated team, eager to prove that his 6-2 second half last season was no accident. Easy to say when you’re 0-0, of course.
“We are trying to build this the right way,” Douglas said, “and I think this agreement helps us do it. We are working to build a base of great players and great people … and build the right culture and have the chemistry. correct in the building. “
Joe Douglas versus the history of the Jets: the irresistible force against the immovable object.
“We are doing everything and working tirelessly to get the right people in this building,” said Douglas.
Without guarantees, 51 seasons after Broadway Joe.
But it all starts with the correct GM in that building.
.
