For the 14th straight season, the New York Jets have been eliminated from the NFL playoffs. Once again, the Jets will head into the offseason with some tough questions to answer and some key decisions to make.
After putting all of their marbles into one basket this season, it seems as if Gang Green will go into a full rebuild in 2025. Vacancies at head coach, general manager, and potentially the quarterback position will need to be filled.
It will be an interesting decision whether the Jets move on from Aaron Rodgers or not. In his first healthy season with the team, his stats weren't the problem, the end results were. Currently the Jets sit at 4-10 in the bottom of the AFC.
In a year where the Jets were picked by some to win at least 10 games, to win the AFC East, and to represent even the AFC in the Super Bowl, obviously this is not the case. Sure every part of the team had its troubles this season, but the one area in which the Jets had been so high on the past couple of seasons, the defense let everyone down.
It started from Week 1 in Santa Clara, the Jets couldn't stop the 49ers whatsoever even when they were without Christian McCaffrey. The defense has had two quality performances this season in my opinion, compared to last season when the defense kept the Jets in almost every single game.
This year the offense improved not greatly but to some extent. It was always expected that once Aaron Rodgers took over that the offense would take a jump. Add the addition of Davante Adams and the help of Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson, this offense should have no problems competing with the best of the best. Yet, the Jets have 4 wins as we approach Week 16.
So what is the problem? Plain and simple: everything. From ownership to coaching to the players, the recipe that the Jets have right now is obviously not working. Starting with hiring a new and competent general manager who can go out and find a good head coach is the first step.
The most vital job for the GM and coach once they are settled is deciding what will happen with Aaron Rodgers. Do they test him out for another season, sign a quarterback in free agency, or go to the draft? The last thing the Jets should be doing is going to the draft for a quarterback. Their history with this is pitiful.
My advice would be to find some proven NFL talent and take a chance on them. I would strongly approve a reunion with Sam Darnold. Seeing how he has taken his role in complete stride this year has convinced me that he deserves another shot with New York. This time with a more experienced offense around him.
Then a look at the rest of the roster needs to be made. On paper, the Jets have a really good team but have been just unable to put it all together. This year their main weakness has been closing games. In their last seven games, the Jets have had leads in the 4th quarter, yet they are 2-5 in these games.
This falls on the coaching. After Robert Saleh was fired, an inexperienced Jeff Ulbrich took over and was left with way too much on his plate. His defensive coaching made the defense what it was the past couple seasons, and now he had to worry about every aspect of the team.
Whatever new head coach who comes in to Florham Park should strongly consider keeping Ulbrich as the defensive coordinator unless he decides to walk. Ulbrich is a top coordinator in the league and it would be a luxury for any other team if they had him. The new coach can bring in their own offensive coordinator, but keep Ulbrich at the same time.
It seems like a broken record every offseason, but the Jets are once again living through this pain. A lot needs to be done before the Jets can get back to the postseason. An intriguing offseason is on the cusp for Gang Green in 2025.
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