FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets‘ group airplane was flying east within the wee hours on Sept. 10 when the dialog amongst some coaches turned to the promising season forward. They had simply been embarrassed on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1 — a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers — however their confidence nonetheless was 40,000 toes excessive.
“I bear in mind somebody on the airplane was saying it again and again that, ‘When we get to 2-1, be careful,'” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich recalled.
The Jets received to 2-1 with wins over the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots, after which issues fell aside.
They misplaced 11 of their subsequent 14 video games to finish maybe essentially the most disappointing season in franchise historical past. With a wholesome Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, the Jets fancied themselves as championship contenders. Woody Johnson referred to as it his finest roster in 25 years of possession. What unfolded during the last 4 months was a meltdown of epic proportions, a 5-12 season that usually defied logic.
A group with no less than three potential Hall of Famers (large receiver Davante Adams, deal with Tyron Smith and Rodgers), a handful of completed stars and a number of other ascending skills blew leads and drew penalty flags as if it was a younger, unproven squad within the early levels of rebuilding.
“Gut wrenching,” defensive deal with Javon Kinlaw stated.
The Jets misplaced a franchise-record six video games after main within the fourth quarter, dedicated a league-high 137 accepted penalties, eclipsed the 30-point mark solely twice and misplaced six video games through which they had been favored — the true definition of underachieving. Only the 49ers (seven) misplaced extra as a favourite.
It was a season in contrast to another in latest generations as a result of, for the primary time since 1975, there was an in-season firing of the pinnacle coach. Four weeks after that post-San Francisco airplane dialog, Ulbrich changed Robert Saleh, who was sacked after a 2-3 begin.
General supervisor Joe Douglas was dismissed six weeks later, but it surely was the Saleh firing, in line with a number of gamers, that triggered the season’s demise. Aside from the shock worth, it cracked the inspiration and created an air of uncertainty, they stated.
“It’s simply laborious for a group to win when you understand your coach and GM are getting fired halfway by the season,” working again Breece Hall stated. “It’s simply quite a lot of stuff up within the air.”
Cornerback D.J. Reed stated, “It impacted the group as a result of it induced a distraction.”
Ulbrich was a popular defensive coordinator, however he had no head-coaching expertise on any degree. That, coupled with the burden of sporting two hats (head coach and defensive coordinator), prompted gamers to surprise all through the season if Ulbrich was stretched too skinny.
“It put much more on Brick’s plate,” nickelback Isaiah Oliver stated of the Saleh dismissal. “It put extra on everybody’s plate — the coaches, the workers normally. So did that have an impact? I do not know for certain. You assume possibly that was the explanation why. Maybe it wasn’t. I do not know, however you may’t assist however surprise.”
Ulbrich made game-management errors all through the season. He admitted as a lot after the Week 17 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In his postgame information convention, he was requested to guage Rodgers’ efficiency. His reply was beautiful:
“Honestly, I did not get to see a complete lot of the offense,” Ulbrich stated. “I used to be doing quite a lot of defensive changes,” for the primary two-plus quarters. By then, the Jets had been down, 40-0.
Ulbrich did not yield his defensive coordinator duties as a result of he felt it was essential to take care of continuity, particularly after he determined to demote Nathaniel Hackett and make Todd Downing the playcaller on offense. Too a lot change, he felt, can be counterproductive.
In retrospect, Ulbrich acknowledged the problem of the twin function, saying, “If I may construct it good in a imaginative and prescient going ahead, I might not be the coordinator and the pinnacle coach.”
No participant blamed Ulbrich for the group’s struggles. If something, they expressed empathy. As one participant stated, “He was thrown right into a tough scenario, with no warning, after we had a sport for first place” — a reference to their Week 6 sport towards the Bills.
They had 12 video games to recalibrate after the Saleh firing, which ought to’ve been loads of time for a veteran-laden group with Rodgers at quarterback. That did not occur, because the Jets dropped their first three video games beneath Ulbrich, together with an inexplicable 25-22 loss to the 4-13 Patriots.
“A second of darkness,” Ulbrich stated on the time.
The second lasted one other two months.
THE JETS WERE doomed by an absence of self-discipline; their 137 penalties had been a franchise-high for this century. In reality, their complete exceeded that of the 1996 Jets (110). No group desires to be in comparison with that ’96 group, which went 1-15 and is the historic level of reference for all-time futility. The present Jets had been so penalty susceptible that they as soon as received flagged six occasions within the span of 5 minutes.
“We did quite a lot of issues the correct approach off the sector, however simply as a group on the sector, I do not assume we had been actually capable of come collectively as an entire group,” Oliver stated. “The whole-team facet simply wasn’t there. It simply did not click on.”
Another participant stated, “Big names and expertise do not assure wins. We’re Exhibit A.”
There was no greater title than Rodgers, who averaged 254 passing yards during the last 5 video games — a glimpse of the Rodgers that starred for the Green Bay Packers over an 18-season span. Unfortunately for the Jets, they had been eradicated from rivalry by then, so his late flurry amounted to nothing greater than whipped cream on a melted sundae.
“He’s a unicorn, regardless, and he is nonetheless received lots left,” stated Adams, eternally trustworthy to his favourite quarterback.
Rodgers began each sport, combating by leg accidents, however he did not have sufficient magic to will his group to respectability. There was shock throughout the group that he did not do a greater job of dealing with in-game adversity. If one thing went unsuitable, he typically sat on the bench alone, both stewing or questioning why these round him could not execute at the next degree. One group supply theorized that a few of the youthful gamers may need been intimidated by Rodgers.
The coaches catered the offense to Rodgers. He completed with 584 go makes an attempt, second-most within the league, and set a franchise document with 640 dropbacks. They had been essentially the most pass-happy group contained in the 20-yard line, which can clarify why they completed twenty first in red-zone effectivity.
At occasions, Hall appeared like an afterthought, fueling his frustration. Inexplicably, he by no means had 20 carries in a sport. If Rodgers received near the top zone, he was throwing; 11 of his 28 touchdowns had been 5 yards or much less.
One participant speculated Downing was calling performs so Rodgers may attain 500 career touchdown passes (which he did within the ultimate sport). There had been rumblings Rodgers was audibling out of runs and into passes, though one participant insisted it wasn’t as typically because it appeared.
THE JETS BUILT a group that relied on older gamers at key positions with Rodgers (41) at quarterback, Smith (34) at left deal with and C.J. Mosley (32) at center linebacker. The potential draw back to that: damage.
Sure sufficient, Smith and Mosley — each with neck accidents — had been sidelined for a mixed 20 video games. Jamien Sherwood changed Mosley and was voted the group MVP by his teammates, however Mosley’s on-field management was missed.
Several gamers stated Mosley’s absence was one of many keys to the decline of the once-formidable protection. The Jets completed seventeenth in defensive effectivity, primarily based on ESPN Analytics — down from third in 2023.
“Despite this season, we by no means broke or folded, by no means checked out, as some individuals had been saying,” stated Reed, alluding to feedback that cornerback Sauce Gardner made after that Week 17 loss.
Woody Johnson, within the aftermath of the season-ending win over the Miami Dolphins, praised the group for not quitting. Deep down, he was bitterly upset by the season, saying, “Everybody thought this was going to be unbelievable.”
But the manufacturing by no means got here near matching the hype. Douglas imported a number of high-profile gamers, together with Smith, large receiver Mike Williams, go rusher Haason Reddick and Adams, who arrived in an October commerce.
Their mixed 2024 compensation: More than $37 million.
The solely participant who reached expectations was Adams, who had 854 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 11 video games. Williams misplaced his explosiveness, received phased out of the offense and was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reddick missed seven video games due to a holdout and was out of form, one group supply stated. He had one sack.
Big names, little manufacturing.
The Reddick holdout was a darkish cloud that hung over the group from April to October. The Jets traded a 2026 third-round choose for one of many league’s most prolific go rushers, pondering he’d be an improve over the departed Bryce Huff. It received messy — quick. Reddick needed a brand new contract, refused to report and surrendered greater than $6 million in sport checks, finally exhibiting up in mid-October beneath the identical base contract that he needed torn up.
The Jets felt his absence, particularly after Week 2, when edge rusher Jermaine Johnson suffered a season-ending Achilles tear. The go rush sagged, forcing Ulbrich to blitz greater than common. Reddick did little on the sector (9 solo tackles in 393 snaps) and declined interviews, as soon as scolding a reporter for being important of his holdout. One participant stated of Reddick, “It’s like he wasn’t even on the group.”
And but Reddick wound up pocketing $9.5 million — roughly $1 million per deal with.
Despite the struggles, Ulbrich trotted out the identical lineup each week, even going out of his strategy to reward gamers comparable to Reddick and defensive finish Micheal Clemons — each of whom had been targets of fan angst. It was curious messaging by Ulbrich, who benched just one participant all season: security Tony Adams.
Soon, the Jets could have a brand new coach and normal supervisor, hoping a brand new management group can finish the the longest active playoff drought (14 seasons) in main North American sports activities. The tradition wants an overhaul.
“Every ground of the constructing is essential,” Adams stated. “You can win video games, however to have the ability to set up a successful tradition is a special factor. You want guys to purchase in and also you want a coach that is capable of are available in right here and win over the gamers and be any individual that holds everyone accountable so you may get again to that old-school really feel of gamers and coaches, each holding the group accountable to get essentially the most out of group.”
