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Jets leadership will be back for more in 2024.
Owner Woody Johnson told The Post on Sunday that general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh will return for the 2024 season.
“My decision is to keep them,” Johnson said in an exclusive interview before Sunday’s 30-28 Jets win over the Commanders. “I think we’ve had some very positive moves. The culture of the team is a lot better. The defense is better. The offense needs a few pieces.”
The Jets entered the 2023 season with high hopes after trading for quarterback Aaron Rodgers in April.
Things unraveled four plays into their season-opening game against the Bills when Rodgers suffered a torn left Achilles tendon.
The Jets stumbled without Rodgers, playing Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle in his place.
Trevor Siemian became the fourth quarterback to start for the Jets on Sunday.
With Rodgers returning in 2024, it would be difficult for the team to hire a new coach and GM to pair with the 40-year-old quarterback, who chose the Jets in part because of the team’s leadership.
“Just to keep the continuity going with Aaron and the team we’ve got,” Johnson said as a reason why he wants Douglas and Saleh back. “Like I said a year ago, we need a quarterback. We had a quarterback for four plays. Since then we haven’t been able to replace him. If we have a good quarterback, it makes everybody’s job easier. It makes the line better, the receivers better.”
The Jets are 6-9 after Sunday’s dramatic win when they rallied for a last-second field goal after blowing a 20-point lead.
Despite Sunday’s win, the Jets will miss the playoffs for the 13th straight season, the longest current playoff drought in North American sports.
Saleh is 17-32 in three seasons on the job.
“[I’m] always appreciative to get Woody’s support,” Saleh said after the win. “There’s a lot of things that we look at this season and a lot of things we know we can do a lot better and a lot of things that we can learn from. We’ve got two more games to finish but with ’24 looming, there’s going to be a lot of excitement to go attack this thing again.”
Saleh was asked what makes him the right man for the job.
“It’s just one of those deals where obviously I can sit here and give you reasons why I think I’m the right coach,” Saleh said, “but at the same time there’s going to be a lot of things that I’ve got to reflect on and acknowledge to get better at not just with myself but globally and use this offseason to make sure we’re attacking it in a way that gets us toward the goal that we all believe we can get to, which is a championship.”
Douglas took over as GM in June 2019. The team is 26-55 under his watch. Douglas has added some talent to the roster, most notably his 2022 draft class that included rookies of the year Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, but he has struggled to build the offensive line and he whiffed when he drafted Zach Wilson No. 2 overall in 2021.
Douglas made the trade for Rodgers with Green Bay in April and the Jets had Super Bowl hopes. Excitement grew all summer with the Jets featured on “Hard Knocks.”
Instead, Rodgers was injured on the fourth play of the season. He attempted to return but he was ruled out for the rest of the season last week in part because the Jets had been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Jets activated Rodgers on Wednesday even though he won’t play.
He ran the scout team in Friday’s practice and it was an energetic practice where he and the Jets defense went back and forth.
Johnson is encouraged by what he has seen from Rodgers over the past month when he thinks about 2024.
“I think if you see Aaron Rodgers right now and the impact he’s having on the team and what he’s able to do with virtually no practice, it’s amazing,” Johnson said. “He’s in the fourth quarter of the league year and he’s throwing like he’s practiced all year. When he starts practicing and gets the timing with receivers just perfect, I think you’re going to see some amazing things.”
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