The real problem for the New York Jets is not the big-mouth head coach. Sure, he should shut up more, and he really needs to re-think his philosophy of "ground and pound" in a league that goes out of its way to help the passing game. It's not the GM, though he's probably better suited to manipulating the salary cap than in evaluating talent, and certainly the Jets botched the off-season by not doing anything to improve their passing game and actually taking a step backward offensively. (This they did by firing their offensive coordinator and not bringing back their red-zone threat Plaxico Burress, whose height gave him great advantage in the end zone.) It's not their quarterback, though he's been a disappointment.
It's the owner, Robert Wood Johnson IV, aka Woody.
If Rex Ryan loses his job at the end of this season, he will be the second consecutive coach to lose his job because the owner saw a bright shiny object in the window and said, "I want that."
A few years ago, Johnson made it clear that he wanted Brett Favre, whose time with the Green Bay Packers was finally ending. Though coach Eric Mangini wasn't too keen on bringing Favre in, Johnson got his wish. Truth be told, the trade to Green Bay for Favre didn't cost the Jets much of anything, and bringing Favre in to replace Chad Pennington, who was coming off an injury, seemed like a good thing for eleven games.
Then Favre got hurt, played through the injury anyway, looked bad, the defense seemed to blow games they should have won, and the Jets lost their last game, clinging to a hope for the playoffs -- to the Miami Dolphins, whose quarterback was... Chad Pennington, who was named Comeback Player of the Year as he took a 1-15 team and turned it into an 11-5 division winner. Mangini was fired because of the team's near-total collapse after an 8-3 start. (This was after three seasons, two of them with winning records, one leading to a playoff berth.)
This past off-season, another shiny object appeared in Woody's view: Tim Tebow. While publicly, the Jets speak about this being a collective decision, with everyone aboard, there's no question in my mind that the trade for Tebow was driven by the owner, who saw in Tebow a chance to make mucho dinero -- and once again steal the back page headlines from his stadium-mates, the Giants, who were too busy winning the Super Bowl to notice.
The Jets are constantly talked about. They are made fun of, debated, and everyone has something to say about them. They sure grab headlines: players in trouble, players opening their mouths, coaches opening theirs, etc. But they haven't won anything.
The Jets screwed up this offseason every which way. They didn't upgrade their offensive line. They didn't get additional quality running back support. They didn't bring in receiving talent to help their quarterback Mark Sanchez, who'd guided the Jets to the AFC Championship game in his first two seasons. But they did bring in Tebow, and the press continues to flock to his locker.
Tebow has been a complete non-factor this season. He's hardly been used, and I don't think offensive coordinator Tony Sparano really wanted to use him anyway, and doesn't know how. He's pretty much wasting his time, but Woody says Tebow will be around next season. "You can never have too much Tebow," Johnson has been quoted as having said.
And this is why he needs to go. Too bad we can't fire owners.
Johnson has owned the team for about a dozen years. He's on his fifth head coach and his third general manager. The Pittsburgh Steelers have had three head coaches since 1969; no team has more Lombardi trophies. The New York Giants have had three GMs since 1979; they have been to five Super Bowls, winning four. See a pattern? Stability.
Woody Johnson is not interested in winning championships. He's interested in headlines. And he's got them: even this week's ridiculous story of Fireman Ed's decision not to come to Jets home games anymore made the back pages, while their rivals just keep winning. The Giants and the New England Patriots have met in the Super Bowl twice in the last five seasons, and they could meet a third time this year too.
But that's all right with Woody. As long as the papers and the sportstalk radio-sphere is full of the ot air the Jets bring, he'll be happy.
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