The Jets’ old power structure is no more.
As revealed in new head coach Robert Saleh’s introductory press conference, Saleh will report to general manager Joe Douglas, a change from the old regime where both Douglas and ex-coach Adam Gase reported directly to ownership.
Douglas will, of course, continue to report to ownership, but Christopher Johnson didn’t believe the new organization would change much.
“This is a clean and simple way to do things, but not much really changes,” Johnson said. “We have a really good line of communication already, and I don’t think that will alter things.”
“Whoever has control, what’s been made clear is that Joe and his staff want to be collaborative and communicate at all levels,” Saleh added when asked about personnel decisions in the new structure. “Every conversation we have, there will be a lot of different things we talk about. Obviously, Joe will always have final say, but I think that when we communicate at the level we have here, who has final say is irrelevant.”
Ownership really has final say over everything, and Christopher Johnson dropped another bombshell at the top of the Saleh introduction: his brother, Woody, is returning to the U.S. on Thursday after wrapping up his term as Ambassador to the U.K. under former President Trump, and will eventually resume his position as principal owner of the Jets.
“When he officially becomes principal owner again, we’re not sure; that has to run through the league, but he will be re-assuming his duties quite soon,” Christopher said. “He will be chairman, and I will be vice chairman, doing an awful lot of day-to-day stuff. All of the final decisions will be his, but I’ve loved being in this building for the last four years, and I’m looking forward to continuing my involvement here. There will be a fair amount of continuity here, and my brother and I love working together.”
New coach, new (old) principal owner, relatively new GM…is that a recipe for success or disaster for a franchise so used to the latter??
“Any perception is unfair; there’s a clear vision on what Christopher wants, on what Joe wants, on what Hymie (team president Hymie Elhai) wants, and together, that vision is unified,” Saleh said. “The communication we had throughout this process…it’s all black and white, no gray area. Going through the interview cycle, I found that everyone here is as authentic as anyone. I’m excited to be a part of this, and I know that sometimes perception is reality, but here, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
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