1. Suppose you were the owner of a team in the National Football League that had not had much success for a long time. And, after recently going to considerable lengths to find such success, you recognized that your franchise once again had to start over to somehow try to be competitive. So, you hit upon the idea of "tanking" to rebuild; that is, deliberately losing games to get higher picks in the draft. But other owners and "the League office" itself can't _see_ you doing that overtly, as they frown upon that. (The National Basketball Association instituted its draft lottery system due to that very issue -- NBA teams _can_ deliberately tank but have no guarantee of getting the highest possible draft picks.) Given that, what might you do? You could start by hiring some new staff -- general manager, head coach, and position coaches -- without much or _any_ experience in those positions. Your general manager _might_ be in on it with you; that is, he could collude with you in helping to tank a season (or seasons?). Even your head coach _could_ be in on it, although it seems best (more plausible) if he is sincerely able to tell everyone week after week that "they" are doing their best to try to win games. ("They" as in “the whole organization,” without him knowing it’s only him, his coaching staff, and the players trying to win games.) Another important thing would be to get rid of players (by various means) who might help you win games. That could look like "dumping salaries" and "acquiring draft capital." (Which _is,_ of course, part of the rationale, but the point is that it will help in losing games if you lack the talent to compete.) 2. I believe I have just described the New York Jets of 2025. Woody Johnson hired a new General Manager (Darren Mougey) and a new Head Coach, Aaron Glenn. The Glenn hiring looked mighty appealing. He’d recently had success as the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions and was a tough-minded coach cut from the Bill Parcells-Sean Payton "coaching tree." More importantly, he was a former Jet -- an outstanding defensive back -- who played when Parcells returned the franchise to respectability in the 1990s. In the player roster area, things started well enough. Of course, getting rid of Aaron Rodgers didn't sit well with everyone, but what a distraction full of drama _that_ had all been. The Jets ran the ball well in 2024, _when_ they ran it. (Compare the Cincinnati Bengals and Zac Taylor's distaste for the running game, no matter how effective it can be.) Jeff Ulbrich spent the remainder of his interim head coaching opportunity giving Aaron Rodgers every chance to win games using mostly his wits, his arm, and Davante Adams. The Jets' 2025 draft made sense, in that their picks were not _bad_ as such. They got several promising players -- a couple of defensive backs and a tight end whose father and maternal uncle were great NFL players. And they used their first pick on Armand Membou, an exceptional prospect who may bookend with Olu Fashanu as the Jets’ offensive tackles for the next few years. Then again, some thought Membou made more sense at right guard, due to his height, which would have freed Alijah Vera-Tucker to return to left guard, his original position as a rookie. (Moved to make room for Laken Tomlinson’s two scintillating seasons, and used at tackle due to other injuries, he has dealt with injuries himself ever since, and now has three of five seasons wiped out.) I might say that the Jets could have traded the seventh overall pick to (let's say) the Bengals and gotten more draft picks while drafting (let's say) Jaxson Dart, quarterback from the University of Mississippi. And they could have used their next pick on Darius Alexander, a defensive tackle, to potentially pair with Quinnen Williams. _I_ might say that, because it _was_ my mock draft scenario for the Jets; instead, the New York Giants got Abdul Carter, traded back into the first round to pick Dart, and then took Alexander with the first pick in Round 3. (At least I had the city right – but, incidentally, I am a life-long Washington fan.) By August, the Jets were scouring the entire planet to find some defensive tackle who might be able to help. (They'd signed Derrick Nnadi as an Unrestricted Free Agent and were so impressed that they traded him _back_ to the Chiefs.) And, of course, at this point, the Jets are gun-shy about drafting _any_ quarterback. Jaxson Dart may have seemed too much of a gamble after Zach Wilson, Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, and ...... Christian Hackenberg? If it seems like you have no idea how to pick a quarterback or develop one, you're probably doing the right thing by no longer trying to. 3. I got the idea to write this once it struck me that something might be very off aside from the Jets’ 0-7 record. Aaron Glenn was unusually firm not only about the status of Justin Fields but especially that of offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand. Whether it was only stubbornness -- or admirable stoicism in a tough situation -- was hard to tell. But the idea hit me: this could be how you go about losing now to (hopefully) gain in the future. Engstrand had never been an offensive coordinator before; I have no idea if he'd ever called plays before. As his special teams coordinator, Glenn hired Chris Banjo, who had never been one before. The Jets went into the season with Justin Fields as their first-string quarterback (and Tyrod Taylor as an experienced journeyman backup). Fields is a former first-round draft pick reclamation project who looked more promising than Trey Lance at this point. And, to complement Garrett Wilson, the Jets acquired ............. Josh Reynolds -- a nice third receiver (flanker/slot receiver) on a packed team, but not the most credible prospect to take attention off Wilson. And they hung onto Allen Lazard, picked up former Charger Tyler Johnson, and drafted Arian Smith. Not the most inspiring scenario. All of this seemed to indicate that they were willing to settle for less. They traded Michael Carter, a fine but occasionally injured nickel back, and shortly thereafter, of course, sent off Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner. That doesn’t seem like a good way to improve your defense, or even to build one for the future. But it could be a highly effective way of continuing to lose games (while keeping key players on offense?). As a Washington fan, I've recently seen what a complete teardown looks like. Once they were winning, I had to say they must know what they're doing. It doesn't look so great now, but my perspective may be influenced by seeing the young franchise quarterback running the ball in the middle of the third quarter (down 30-7) with several large men in Seahawks uniforms bouncing him around. (In other words, I wouldn’t have had Jayden Daniels in running plays at that point.) But the Washington situation was obvious and plausible, part of a changeover in culture and the possibility that "prior management" may not have had the best players. That's not easy to say with the Jets. The players themselves responded recently by winning two games in a row. Brandon Stephens has played his butt off this season; Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood always have. It's not as if talent -- let alone effort -- was lacking. And that's why I'm inclined to say what's going on seems more surreptitious (which is another way of saying it’s underhanded, I guess). Tanking presents plenty of problems, but at least one can argue for its rationale; even jettisoning your best players to make it harder to compete makes sense. The real question is whether the coaching staff is in on it, especially Aaron Glenn. It would be unfair to them if they were hired in anticipation of their failure. But if your new head coach happens to be black, that might be important for Woody Johnson once the coach fails, as expected. Johnson can say, "See, I hired a black coach -- I gave 'one' a chance. And now it's time to move on with a shiny new .…. coach.”

Woody Johnson brutally criticizes Justin Fields publicly while Jets plan quarterback change to Tyrod Taylor after 0-7 start and offensive struggles.

Head coach Robert Saleh and owner Woody Johnson of the New York Jets interact during New York Jets Mandatory Minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center

Robert Woody Johnson, is married to wife Suzanne Ircha with whom he has two children Know all details about Suzanne Ircha Johnson, who is the wife of New York Jets Woody Johnson who has also acquired a stake in Crystal Palace now after buying it from John Textor. Jets owner Woody Johnson once served as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom and he's now buying into England's biggest sports league as Premier League team Crystal Palace announced on Monday that Johnson has agreed to purchase a stake in the team.

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