New York Jets fire general manager Joe Douglas after five seasons: NFL
General manager Joe Douglas of the New York Jets speaks to the media during the 2024 NFL Draft Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 28, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - The New York Jets fired general manager Joe Douglas after more than five seasons, the NFL announced on Tuesday.
Douglas' firing follows the dismissal of head coach Robert Saleh over a month ago, which came after a Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London, according to the NFL.
Douglas was hired by the Jets in 2019.
Douglas, who was 30-64 in his tenure with the Jets, was not consulted by Johnson when the owner made the decision to dismiss Saleh and replace him on an interim basis with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. That was a clear indication that Douglas' job could also be in jeopardy.
"I come in here every day and just want to do whatever I can to help this team reach its goals and reach its destination," Douglas said two weeks ago when asked if he was worried about his job status. "And whatever happens, happens."
The Jets were 3-6 at that time and Douglas insisted the team could turn things around and make a late run.
"Obviously, it starts with me," Douglas said. "I can look back and there’s quite a few things that I could have done better. Obviously, when a situation happens like what happened four weeks ago (Saleh's firing), you have a lot of self-reflective moments on the things that you could have done better to keep that from happening.
"But we’ve got an opportunity here with these last stretch games to change that narrative."
The Jets have since dropped two more games, including a humiliating 31-6 loss at Arizona two weeks ago followed by New York blowing a late lead and losing 28-27 to Indianapolis last Sunday.
And Johnson apparently thought it was time during the Jets' bye-week break to complete what is a major overhaul rather than wait until the end of the season — when it appears likely the franchise will miss the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year, the longest active drought in the NFL.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.