Jets damage their credibility as team on upswing

A Jets fan knew it would be a long day on Sunday when the Seahawks scored on the opening drive and Jets quarterback Mike White threw an interception in his first series of the game.

It culminated in the Jets’ 23-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Not only did this loss mean the Jets were eliminated from making the playoffs, but it will also give the team a losing season. If you are scoring at home, the Jets will miss the playoffs for the 12th straight year (a current NFL-leading drought), and they will have their seventh straight losing season.

It’s hard to say this franchise is on the upswing when the team is on a five-game losing streak after a 7-4 start. It’s hard to sell progress when the Jets came out unprepared in a game they had to win to keep their postseason chances alive.

The Jets raise more questions than answers heading into next season. They don’t have a quarterback. No one knows if head coach Robert Saleh can elevate the team to greatness. Shoot, it’s fair to wonder if Joe Douglas is the right guy for his job despite assembling some good young talent.

This is not a good position to be in heading into Year 3 with this general manager-head coach duo.

Make no mistake, owner Woody Johnson has been watching this unfold. He is going to be itching to do something, and this means he may make a change, especially in light of the Giants making the playoffs on the same day the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention. Nothing irritates him more than the Giants getting into the playoffs.

We all know the Jets will get a quarterback next season. There’s no way they can head into next season with what they have. Onetime Jets No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson likely has been banished to another city with his inept play and boorish attitude. Mike White’s 15 minutes of fame as the next Joe Namath are up, and he is injury-prone. But there may be more changes to come.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Saleh and Douglas lose their jobs, especially Saleh. Keep in mind, this is the same owner who fired Eric Mangini as head coach. He made this decision minutes after the Jets took a 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins in their last game of the 2008 season. Never mind that Mangini had a winning season with great drafting and a postseason appearance to show for it.

Of course, the Jets have never recovered as a franchise since the owner hastily fired his head coach. Sure, Jets fans will say Rex Ryan got the Jets to two AFC title game appearances, but remember he did this with Mangini’s players who clearly wanted to show Mangini was the problem and once they were all gone, Ryan was exposed for the fraud he is. Since then, the Jets have been searching for the right head coach and general manager.

Saleh made strides in his second season as Jets head coach. He had the Jets in a position to make the playoffs at 7-4. If he had stability at quarterback, the Jets would likely make the playoffs. It did not happen with Wilson imploding at quarterback and White being hurt.

But here’s where you doubt Saleh. How is it he didn’t prepare his team properly for a game they had to get on Sunday? The Jets approached this game as if it was a play-out-the-string game rather than a desperation game. They looked lifeless from start to finish.

This raises questions right there about whether or not he can elevate this team when it really matters. Too often, the team gets outcoached and outplayed as it did on Sunday. It’s hard for him to make a case to keep his job as an 11-22 head coach. Sunday’s performance should get a head coach fired.

There was a report from The Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora last week about Saleh’s job being in danger. His information was that Johnson was not in sync with his head coach. Right now, the head coach is not in a good place.

Douglas shouldn’t be secure, either. Sure he is an upgrade over failed Jets general managers Mike Maccagnan and John Idzik, but that’s setting the bar so low. Here’s the bottom line: he is 20-45 in his three years as Jets general manager, and he struck out drafting Wilson when he should have drafted Justin Fields.

The Jets general manager deserves criticism for hiring Saleh as the head coach to oversee Wilson’s development. He should have hired Giants head coach Brian Daboll or Jaguars coach Doug Pederson to oversee his quarterback’s development last year when either of them was available to get the job. You don’t hire a defensive coach who may not have the interest or knowledge to work on the quarterback.

Douglas hasn’t done much to really keep his job if we are being honest.

Keep in mind that Douglas and Saleh were not Woody’s hires. Chris Johnson, Woody’s brother, hired them, so Woody may have the inclination to find someone who can get them to the top.

Maybe he feels he can get Sean Payton or Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh to oversee the Jets' operation as head coach and general manager. It may be hard to allure either one, but he is going to try. He owes it to himself and the franchise to do it. Maybe he can be the closer.

The Jets started this season with talk about them being on the upswing. They backed it up at times, but when it was money time, they turned out to be the Same Old Jets.

12 years of no playoffs. Many question marks from the quarterback to the head coach to the general manager.

Just another Jets season as we call it around here.

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