FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets‘ disappointing season claimed another casualty Tuesday, as owner Woody Johnson fired general manager Joe Douglas after five-plus seasons.
The move came six weeks after Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start, setting the stage for an offseason reboot that likely will affect quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Phil Savage, a senior football adviser for the Jets, was named the team’s interim general manager. Savage is a former GM of the Cleveland Browns (2005-08).
“Today, I informed Joe Douglas he will no longer serve as the General Manager of the New York Jets. I want to thank Joe for his commitment to the Jets over the last six years and wish him and his family the best moving forward,” Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson added that the Jets “will begin the process to identify a new General Manager immediately.” He wasn’t made available to reporters.
The Jets, who began the season with Super Bowl aspirations, dropped to 3-8 after blowing a late lead Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. Johnson, who recently called this Jets roster the best he has had in 25 years of ownership, was fuming after the game, sources said.
Douglas’ ouster isn’t a surprise — the team was 30-64 under his stewardship, with no winning seasons and no playoff appearances — but the timing is curious, considering there are still six games remaining. Douglas, who signed a six-year contract in June 2019, didn’t have a contract for the 2025 season. In fact, his deal would have expired in six months, which created seasonlong uncertainty.
Johnson figured sooner was better than later because he decided Douglas’ fate after Sunday’s game and wanted to start the process of a GM search as quickly as possible, sources said. He apparently felt it would’ve been awkward to conduct the search with a lame-duck GM still in the building.
Douglas’ fate was likely sealed when he wasn’t included in the decision to fire Saleh on Oct. 8. At the time, Johnson made it abundantly clear that it was his call, leaving his GM in a difficult position.
Some in the organization were surprised that Johnson didn’t fire Douglas and Saleh at the same time, sources said. It’s possible that Johnson retained Douglas long enough to handle some unfinished business — the Haason Reddick holdout and the trading deadline (Nov. 5). The Jets wound up trading for wide receiver Davante Adams (Oct. 15) and resolving the holdout (Oct. 22), with Johnson taking a key role in both.
Douglas had become disenchanted in recent weeks, sources said, hoping a miracle turnaround might change things. The opposite has happened; the Jets have dropped seven of their past eight games in what was supposed to be a win-now season under Rodgers, whose future is cloudy. One source said he’d be “shocked” if Johnson brings Rodgers back in 2025.
Rodgers, 40, mired in one of his worst statistical seasons, is under contract for next season ($23.5 million cap charge), but none of his salary is guaranteed.
Douglas arrived with a sterling reputation as a talent evaluator. He built a roster with young stars such as wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, but he had a huge miss by drafting quarterback Zach Wilson with the second pick in 2021 after deciding to move on from Sam Darnold and trading him to the Carolina Panthers.
Douglas tried a quick fix at quarterback, trading for Rodgers in April 2023, but the Jets caught a bad break when the future Hall of Famer tore his Achilles on the fourth snap of the 2023 season. He doubled down on Rodgers, surrounding him with aging stars on short-term deals — namely offensive tackle Tyron Smith, wide receiver Mike Williams and edge rusher Reddick, who came via trade. None of them have worked out. Williams was traded recently to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Douglas helped build a talented defense, which has regressed this season, he failed to solidify the offensive line and quarterback positions. Since the start of 2019, the team’s quarterbacks rank last in the NFL in Total QBR (36), completion rate (59.6%) and yards per attempt (6.3), according to ESPN Research.
The Jets will be looking to hire a GM and coach for the first time since 2015, when they wound up with Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles, respectively. Bowles was fired after the 2018 season; Maccagnan was fired a few months later after losing a power struggle with newly hired coach Adam Gase. Maccagnan was replaced by Douglas.
Johnson’s role for 2025 remains unclear. There’s speculation that he could be appointed by president-elect Donald Trump to serve again as the ambassador to the United Kingdom, a post he held from 2017 to 2021. If that happens, Johnson’s younger brother, Christopher, would again assume day-to-day control of the team.
