Tag: Woody Johnson

Woody Johnson: Jets give Haason Reddick permission to seek trade

Woody Johnson: Jets give Haason Reddick permission to seek trade

After saying otherwise, the New York Jets have decided to change their tune regarding trading Haason Reddick.

In April, the Jets acquired Reddick in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in 2026. Since then, he has refused to report over failed contract negotiations with the team.

After previously requesting a trade, Jets owner Woody Johnson now confirmed that Reddick is now allowed to seek a trade.

When asked if Reddick was allowed to do so at the NFL owners’ meeting this week, Johnson simply replied “yes.”

The news of Reddick being allowed to do so comes after New York acquired wide receiver Davante Adams in a trade. With Adams now under contract, it’s hard to imagine a world where both would fit under the Jets’ salary cap.

The update from Johnson also comes after the team denied Reddick’s request to be traded in August.

Johnson’s comments can be found in the AP news clip below:

Bill Belichick blasted Jets owner Woody Johnson for firing Robert Saleh

Bill Belichick went scorched earth on the Jets.

It’s common knowledge that Bill Belichick doesn’t care for the New York Jets, and he obliterated the team’s owner, Woody Johnson, during the ManningCast on Monday night.

As Peyton and Eli Manning discussed the recent firing of Robert Saleh with Belichick, the former New England Patriots coach scoffed at the move as yet another sign of disfunction in the Meadowlands.

“That’s kind of what it’s been there with the Jets,” Belichick told the Mannings, noting the team’s poor win-loss records over the last decade. “The owner being the owner, just ready, fire, aim.”

OUCH. That’s just devastating, especially when you consider how many of those losses came to Belichick’s Patriots. The former coach really didn’t mince his words here.

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There were conflicting reports on what happened after the Jets fired Robert Saleh

There were conflicting reports on what happened after the Jets fired Robert Saleh

The New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh and then a bit of a circus unfolded.

Or did it?

We have conflicting reports.

On Tuesday, Saleh was let go by the Jets after a 2-3 start to the season.  The coach who was hired in 2021 and had a 20-36 overall record. The firing took place amid apparent disagreements with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The team had informed Saleh of their decision in a meeting which included owner Woody Johnson.

Saleh eventually left the building. That’s what happens when you’re fired. But was he escorted by security?

That was reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz and Pro Football Talk:

Doing so seems a bit… unusual. It wouldn’t really be the best look for the Jets, either.

If that’s what happened.

Follow-up reports from ESPN and SNY then stated a bit of the opposite:

The two sides of the reporting seems to be clearly coming from two different sides. Pro-Saleh and Anti-Saleh. Regardless, with this one, we’ll likely never really know exactly what this situation looked like.

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Could Saints follow Jets’ example with an unprecedented move at head coach?

The Jets broke 25 years of precedent by firing head coach Robert Saleh midseason. Could the Saints make a similar bold move?

The New York Jets broke 25 years of precedent by firing head coach Robert Saleh midseason. Unsatisfied with his team’s 2-3 start and Saleh’s 20-36 record, team owner Woody Johnson chose to act boldly and go in a new direction just five games into the 2024 season. It remains to be seen how much input Aaron Rodgers had on the move given all of the Jets’ kowtowing to his demands over the last year, but this was big news in the NFL  either way.

Could the New Orleans Saints make a similar bold move? Gayle Benson has only hired one coach after inheriting the team from her late husband Tom Benson, who never fired a coach during the season since buying the team in 1985. But Dennis Allen’s position isn’t much different than Saleh’s was before the Jets took action.

Just like the Jets, the Saints are 2-3 right now. Allen has gone 18-21 through three seasons as head coach, which admittedly isn’t as low a winning percentage (.462) as Saleh (.357), even if it is on the wrong side of .500. But how much more losing can the Saints take? They’re coming off their third straight loss.

Every week Allen is slumping at the podium talking about how his team has gotten outplayed and outcoached, and how they’ve made too many mistakes that cost them big opportunities. There’s nothing insightful about that and it raises the question of whether Allen knows how to fix these problems. Allen is supposed to be known for the strength of his defense but they’re getting carved up by has-beens like Kareem Hunt (102 rushing yards, his most since 2020) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (130 receiving yards, his most since the 2020 Wild Card Round). Every week there’s a new tight end streaking through the secondary with a neon sign around his neck showing that he’s open.

He still hasn’t figured out how to compete with good teams. The Saints have lost so many games in the same ways these last three years that they’ve started to run together. Something needs to change, and fast. And it might need to start at the top of the organization.

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Statement from Jets owner Woody Johnson on Robert Saleh’s firing

Statement from Jets owner Woody Johnson on Robert Saleh’s firing

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has broken his silence.

The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh following a 2-3 start to the 2024 NFL season. In his tenure, Saleh notched a 20-36 overall record as the team’s bench boss.

Saleh’s firing came as a shock considering the team’s record, it only being five games into the season and losing by close calls in each of their past two outings.

Most recently, New York lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 23-17, out in London in Week 5.

Following the team’s decision, Johnson released this statement:

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Watch: Jets make call as they draft WR Malachi Corley

See the Jets making the call of a lifetime to Malachi Corley

Owner Woody Johnson and company were sweating, but in the end, the wait was worth it. The Jets got their guy in Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley.

The Jets reportedly were trying to move into the second round but couldn’t find a team to bite. When Corley slipped into third round, the Jets knew their time to strike had arrived. They made the call to the Carolina Panthers, offered a 5th-round pick and were to move from No. 72 to No. 65 to grab their guy.

It was Malachi Corley, no matter what, as head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas texted each other.

Now, you can check out the team making the call to Corley to let him know he is officially a member of the New York Jets.

Woody Johnson denies report of heated argument with Robert Saleh

Woody Johnson strongly denied any report of a heated argument with Robert Saleh at the annual league meeting

Jets owner Woody Johnson took to Twitter/X Thursday to deny recent reports that he and head coach Robert Saleh had a heated argument during the Annual League Meeting in Orlando.

Earlier in the week, NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe reported that Johnson and Saleh got into a “very heated argument” and things got “awkward”.

“I will say, from a very reliable source at the owners meetings, there was a very heated conversation between Woody and Robert Saleh, to the point where it was a little awkward,” Wolfe said Tuesday. (H/T CBS Sports)

Johnson is now telling fans to disregard that report, sharing the following message on Twitter.

SNY’s Connor Hughes also reported Wednesday night there was no such verbal argument between the two sides.

Johnson more or less gave Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas a “playoffs or bust” ultimatum for this season without actually coming right out and saying that.

All that said, the hopes of the Jets having a quiet offseason, while always unlikely, have quickly dashed yet again. Between Aaron Rodgers almost becoming a vice presidential candidate to Johnson first saying the Jets didn’t have a backup quarterback to walking those comments back and calling Zach Wilson a “valuable asset”. Now they have this to add to their plate. Just another typical offseason in Florham Park.

Woody Johnson calls Zach Wilson ‘valuable asset’, will keep QB if no trade

Woody Johnson had a little change of heart when it comes to quarterback Zach Wilson.

The saga surrounding the New York Jets and a potential trade of quarterback Zach Wilson took another interesting turn Monday from the mouth of owner Woody Johnson.

Speaking to reporters at the Annual League Meeting in Orlando, Johnson was asked about Wilson and called him a “valuable asset”. Johnson did also note that a change of scenery could benefit Wilson but said the team will keep Wilson if they cannot find a trade partner. They will not straight release him. “If we don’t trade him, we will keep him,” Johnson said. The Jets get no cap relief from cutting Wilson. Trading him would shift his $5.5 million in 2024 compensation to the acquiring team, unless the Jets agree to take on some of the money themselves.

Johnson’s comments are him essentially walking back his comments last month at the NFL Honors about Wilson in which he said the Jets “didn’t have a backup quarterback last year.” The comes as the options of teams for the Jets to trade Wilson to are dwindling fast.

Among the moves made involving likely backup quarterbacks include the Arizona Cardinals trading for Desmond Ridder from the Atlanta Falcons and Mitch Trubisky going back to the Buffalo Bills after a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who now have Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

Via ESPN’s Rich Cimini:

“I feel badly about Zach in some ways because last year it would’ve been a great — it would’ve been the first time he could just sit back and watch a master at work, and he’s never had that,” Johnson said. “He’s been in the fire from Day 1, and I think that’s what he needs. He needs to be in a place where he can observe for a while. He’s got the skill. He can do everything. There’s a reason we drafted him No. 2 overall, and I have confidence that he’ll get there at some point.”

The Jets are still expected to tinker with the quarterback room, perhaps taking one on the third day of the draft in April. The team signed Tyrod Taylor to back up Aaron Rodgers this season. General manager Joe Douglas also said during the Scouting Combine he has given Wilson’s representation permission to seek a trade.

Douglas also said Monday in Orlando there have been talks with teams regarding Wilson but “nothing is close”.

Robert Saleh to concentrate more on offense in effort to help fix issues

Robert Saleh to concentrate more on offense in effort to help fix issues

Jets owner Woody Johnson said before the NFL Honors that head coach Robert Saleh will concentrate more on offense to help fix the issues on that side of the ball.

“We’ve got a lot to fix, and so this year we’re gonna fix it,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said Thursday, via CBS Sports. “We’re going to get where we have to be. … Disappointment doesn’t nearly cover it. We work for the fans, and we want to do a good job for the fans. To see them disappointed like this the way we had everything going is very frustrating. Very difficult. Hard to take. … These games are very hard to take.”

Saleh let offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett take the reigns of the offense in 2023, but playcalling became a major question throughout the season following the Week 1 Achilles injury to quarterback Aaron Rodgers after the Jets tailored their offense to Rodgers throughout the offseason.

Johnson believes this will help Saleh become a better head coach while also showing plenty of faith in defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

“He is going to be a lot better head coach,” Johnson said of Saleh, via CBS. “One thing about head coaches is you get better as you get more experience. He is going to concentrate on offense. He has Jeff to do the defense. We have good special teams. It’s offense, offense, offense. Get the quarterback moving. Get the line moving. Work on the run and do all that you have to do to win. You can’t do one thing you have to do it all. It’s not just one player.”

It’s not just one player but the Jets did all they could to rally around one player. Now, it’s about getting the entire offense up and running after a season that saw one of the worst offensive outputs of any team in recent memory, leading to a second straight 7-10 season and another top-ten pick in the upcoming draft.

Johnson all but put the Jets and Saleh on full notice at the NFL Honors. He wouldn’t come out and say he’s making a true playoff mandate, but he came about as close as he could to doing so. Now Johnson adds this, more or less saying Hackett isn’t cutting it on his own and needs help. How Saleh helps navigate the offense with Rodgers at the helm will be fascinating to watch.

Giants’ John Mara, Jets’ Woody Johnson regularly discuss installing grass field

Jets owner Woody Johnson says he and New York Giants co-owner John Mara regularly discuss installing a grass field at MetLife Stadium.

The world learned this week that the 2026 FIFA World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium and that grass will be installed to meet the requirements of a FIFA venue.

MetLife Stadium switched from UBU Speed S5-M to FieldTurf Core HD before the 2023 NFL season as a result of the rash of injuries incurred by players on the old surface over the 14 years since it opened in 2010.

Now they will have to switch to a natural surface, an idea that has been bandied about between the owners of the Giants and Jets for quite some time now.

Jets owner Woody Johnson told reporters covering the Super Bowl in Las Vegas this week that he and Giants owner John Mara discuss installing a grass field “at least once a week,” per NJ Advance Media.

Johnson added that grass could be a challenge, because the stadium hosts so many events — and because two NFL teams share the open-air venue until at least late December or early January, when the regular season ends. And everyone knows what New Jersey’s weather can be like then.

Grass is not optimal at MetLife, one of the most popular venues in North America because of both logistics and the expense.

As stated, the Northern New Jersey weather would literally put a damper on the effort, which is one of the reasons the teams opted for an artificial surface to begin with.

With two NFL teams playing on the surface — possibly on back-to-back days — and all of the other events that take place at the venue (soccer, college football, concerts, monster trucks, wrestling, etc.) it would be a severe challenge to care for a grass surface year-round.

A grass surface at MetLife full-time might end up being more unsafe than the current one they have in place.

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