At the end of this week’s NFL Draft Insiders Podcast with myself and Andy Herman, I broke some news regarding Woody Johnson, New York Jets Owner and current United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. It dates back to March of this year when I was gathering information on the conflict taking place inside the Jets front office. At the time, I was told that the word inside the league is that Woody Johnson is expected to return to the Jets in November of 2020, regardless of the results of the Presidential election.
Johnson assumed office in this diplomatic role on November 8, 2017 and has not been involved in the Jets daily operations since then. Johnson, who had purchased the Jets in January 2000, has seen mixed success during his time. But nothing has compared to the drama and internal rifts within the organization.
It started with our report of GM Mike Maccagnan being on the outs due to his conflict with head coach Adam Gase. And while they’ve made changes since that time, there is still plenty of dysfunction within the organization, as I reported in this week’s mailbag. When Johnson returns, his priority will of course be to regain control of the organization and get everything sorted.
Part of that will be deciding what to do with Gase, if he’s still with the team by that time. In the podcast, I touch on the latest regarding what I’m hearing. Will he be fired this season, or will he get another chance under GM Joe Douglas? Based on conversations I’ve had with some people, I am led to believe that he has control of the locker room. But if he continues to rack up losses, will that change?
Listen in below (or click here for the external player) for more on what I have to say regarding the Jets, Chris and Woody Johnson, and the rumblings that are flying around league circles starting at the 47:45 mark.