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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Monday brought the end of the "Odd Couple," a New York Jets power relationship that was doomed from the start.
With the*firing of general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan on Monday, the Jets are clearly going in a different direction. And for once, it might be the right direction.
It has now been four straight seasons without a Jets playoff berth. A 26-38 record over those four years made the firing of the affable and gregarious Ryan no surprise. But the parting of ways with Idzik, this after just two years on the job, is perhaps the biggest sign of discontent from the upper echelons of management.
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“I made my final decision after the season – today. It became apparent during the season as we progressed, the team was not getting better and you kind of are what, as Bill Parcells said, you are what your record says you are,” owner Woody Johnson said during a Monday press conference. “It was kind of obvious that we had to make the change. It was obvious to me, anyway.”
When Idzik was brought on board two years ago, hired away from the Seattle Seahawks, he was handed the task of straightening out a tight salary cap situation while rebuilding a team that made the conference championship in 2009 and again in 2010. Part of his deal was that he had to keep Ryan on board for at least one season, pairing a loosey-goosey head coach with a tight-lipped general manager. Disaster seemed likely.
It worked OK in 2013, Idzik's first year, when Ryan led the Jets to a surprising 8-8 record. But this year it all fell apart, with a clear lack of vision and direction dooming Idzik to two-and-done with the Jets.
Idzik's brief stint in New York is a bit of a head scratcher, given the lack of time to turn things around since Johnson has been criticized in the past for showing too much patience with general managers and head coaches.
“It is short I guess by those kind of standards. John added a lot to this team,” Johnson said. “And he did a lot of good things for the New York Jets that he doesn't get credit for because it was the Yin and Yang. It was the good John and the less than good John.”
Publicly, Johnson had shown unwavering support for Idzik, even after a disastrous offseason in which Idzik missed on some very major big names despite plenty of cap space and needs throughout the roster. Factor in a horrible draft – in fact, defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson can be considered the only impact player from 19 selections over the last two years – and suddenly Idzik's once bright future in New York became bleak.
Johnson still voiced some enthrall with Idzik on Oct. 2, the last time he spoke to the media before Monday. Idzik was beginning to receive criticism for his then 1-3 team and his deliberate approach, but at that time Johnson said that Idzik's pragmatism was “one of the reasons I hired him, because he is deliberate. He does look at these decisions in a holistic way in terms of how they’re going to effect the team [and] long-term success. I think he’s very good at that.”
Enter nine more losses to finish 4-12 on the heels of last year's .500 record and suddenly Idzik was on life support by the end of December. Now Idzik and the head coach who was forced upon him are both looking for work.
Johnson called this a “critical” period for a franchise that enters this offseason with cap space and the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft.
“We've got to make some good decisions. We have to structure it properly. We have to know exactly what we're looking for in a head coach and how he defines what he's looking for and the same with a general manager,” Johnson said.
“A head coach has to be able to – we can go through all the criteria. You can make it very complicated or very simple. You can ask a lot of questions but it really comes down to a head coach that can pick his staff; because you're only as good as your staff.”
When speaking about Ryan, Johnson credited him as someone who “made the team relevant” and someone who “was very good and very honest.” While the fans still showed support for their head coach, they clearly turned on their general manager.
It now appears that Johnson was having a similar mindset to some very vocal fans who were calling for Idzik's head.
By late October, FireJohnIdzik.com popped up on the internet and a fundraising effort yielded multiple billboards asking for Idzik's termination. Planes with banners calling for Idzik to go flew over practice and over MetLife Stadium before games.
Johnson said he didn't make Monday's firings*based on the fans' clear disdain over the direction of the team.
“I work for the fans but I don't listen to the fans. But the fans who are most vocal are the fans are not maybe the fans that represent all the fans,” Johnson said.
“I think the fans by and large, 80 percent or 85 percent of fans know the game, know the fundamentals of the game and are less emotional – emotional and passionate – but they aren't going to have the wide swings you're going to see on most of the social media pages.”
With the*firing of general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan on Monday, the Jets are clearly going in a different direction. And for once, it might be the right direction.
It has now been four straight seasons without a Jets playoff berth. A 26-38 record over those four years made the firing of the affable and gregarious Ryan no surprise. But the parting of ways with Idzik, this after just two years on the job, is perhaps the biggest sign of discontent from the upper echelons of management.
[Join FanDuel's $1.75M Wild Card fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 14,530 teams paid]
“I made my final decision after the season – today. It became apparent during the season as we progressed, the team was not getting better and you kind of are what, as Bill Parcells said, you are what your record says you are,” owner Woody Johnson said during a Monday press conference. “It was kind of obvious that we had to make the change. It was obvious to me, anyway.”
When Idzik was brought on board two years ago, hired away from the Seattle Seahawks, he was handed the task of straightening out a tight salary cap situation while rebuilding a team that made the conference championship in 2009 and again in 2010. Part of his deal was that he had to keep Ryan on board for at least one season, pairing a loosey-goosey head coach with a tight-lipped general manager. Disaster seemed likely.
It worked OK in 2013, Idzik's first year, when Ryan led the Jets to a surprising 8-8 record. But this year it all fell apart, with a clear lack of vision and direction dooming Idzik to two-and-done with the Jets.
Idzik's brief stint in New York is a bit of a head scratcher, given the lack of time to turn things around since Johnson has been criticized in the past for showing too much patience with general managers and head coaches.
“It is short I guess by those kind of standards. John added a lot to this team,” Johnson said. “And he did a lot of good things for the New York Jets that he doesn't get credit for because it was the Yin and Yang. It was the good John and the less than good John.”
Johnson still voiced some enthrall with Idzik on Oct. 2, the last time he spoke to the media before Monday. Idzik was beginning to receive criticism for his then 1-3 team and his deliberate approach, but at that time Johnson said that Idzik's pragmatism was “one of the reasons I hired him, because he is deliberate. He does look at these decisions in a holistic way in terms of how they’re going to effect the team [and] long-term success. I think he’s very good at that.”
Enter nine more losses to finish 4-12 on the heels of last year's .500 record and suddenly Idzik was on life support by the end of December. Now Idzik and the head coach who was forced upon him are both looking for work.
Johnson called this a “critical” period for a franchise that enters this offseason with cap space and the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft.
“We've got to make some good decisions. We have to structure it properly. We have to know exactly what we're looking for in a head coach and how he defines what he's looking for and the same with a general manager,” Johnson said.
“A head coach has to be able to – we can go through all the criteria. You can make it very complicated or very simple. You can ask a lot of questions but it really comes down to a head coach that can pick his staff; because you're only as good as your staff.”
When speaking about Ryan, Johnson credited him as someone who “made the team relevant” and someone who “was very good and very honest.” While the fans still showed support for their head coach, they clearly turned on their general manager.
It now appears that Johnson was having a similar mindset to some very vocal fans who were calling for Idzik's head.
By late October, FireJohnIdzik.com popped up on the internet and a fundraising effort yielded multiple billboards asking for Idzik's termination. Planes with banners calling for Idzik to go flew over practice and over MetLife Stadium before games.
Johnson said he didn't make Monday's firings*based on the fans' clear disdain over the direction of the team.
“I work for the fans but I don't listen to the fans. But the fans who are most vocal are the fans are not maybe the fans that represent all the fans,” Johnson said.
“I think the fans by and large, 80 percent or 85 percent of fans know the game, know the fundamentals of the game and are less emotional – emotional and passionate – but they aren't going to have the wide swings you're going to see on most of the social media pages.”
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Kristian R. Dyer writes for Metro New York and is a contributor to Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KristianRDyer