Jet’s general manager Joe Douglas opened the door on Tuesday to the chance that the team will trade quarterback Sam Darnold.
Douglas praised Darnold, but retired in 2021 to commit to him as the team’s quarterback.
“We have a lot of decisions to make,” said Douglas. “I think Sam is going to be a great quarterback. I’m excited to get a head coach here, by going through our process. I had a great chat with Sam yesterday. I won’t go into the details, but I think Sam has a very bright future in this competition. … I’m excited about Sam. “
It was an October 2019 departure, when Douglas said Darnold was the only untouchable player on the team’s roster and he would listen to trade offers for someone else. But Douglas and the Jets now face a major quarterback decision to stay with Darnold, who had a terrifying season, and try to keep him afloat with better talent around him or swap Darnold and select a quarterback. with the number 2 overall pick in April’s draft.
Douglas won’t make that call alone, so he can’t answer that question right now. Douglas and the Jets must find a new head coach before they can call on the squad.
“Any major decision we have in terms of selection, in terms of free choice, design, whatever, our new head coach will be a big part of that progress,” said Douglas.
Darnold finished the season as the worst-rated passer in the NFL. He threw 11 interceptions and nine touchdowns in 12 games. Adam Gase was fired on Sunday, in part for failing to get more out of Darnold and the worst attack in the NFL. Douglas apologized to Darnold on Tuesday.
“I think Sam has faced a lot of obstacles this year, just like everyone else,” said Douglas. “Dealing with COVID, and frankly, we had quite a few injuries on the attack line, at the wide receiver position. I think it was difficult for our offense in general to really build the sustained chemistry to create real success all year round. I think we had different attacking line groups all season. We didn’t really get the chance to have our top three receivers on the field at the same time until week 9. I think all those things affected not only Sam but our transgression as well. I think you saw Sam playing a lot of good ball in the month of December. You clearly saw that we were able to beat two playoff teams and a lot of that is because of how Sam played. “
Douglas and the Jets now begin their search for a new coach. The team is known to have requested interviews with six candidates. Douglas is leading the search, saying he is looking for a “great partner” with high integrity and a vision for what he wants the team to be.
There are currently six head coaching openings around the NFL. Most people see the opening of the Jets near the bottom of that list in terms of attractiveness, but Douglas said the team has some selling points.
“I think there are a lot of good pieces here,” said Douglas. “I think there are some good young core players. I think it is our responsibility to try to build around the pieces we have. Our responsibility is to make the best decisions in terms of the leader we bring in, the players we choose from at free agency, the players we draft. Clearly we are excited about the resources we have. We are delighted to be talking to a candidate to come to this great city, this great market and this great fan base and build something really special that hasn’t been done here in a long time. I think these are exciting times for this franchise, for this fan base. “
Douglas said it will be a broad search and college coaches will be considered. Douglas said it was hard to see Gase fired.
“I know people outside this building, they may not see it right now, but he’s done some really good things here that will help us move forward,” said Douglas.
He also took his own share of the blame for the team’s 2-14 record in 2020.
“I certainly could have done a better job putting this roster together, helping this staff, helping this team succeed,” Douglas said.