Jets general manager Joe Douglas opened the door on Tuesday for the team to change defender Sam Darnold.
Douglas praised Darnold, but stopped working for him as the team’s defender in 2021.
“We have a lot of decisions to make,” Douglas said. “I think Sam will be a great defender. I’m excited to bring a head coach here, to go through our process. I had a great conversation with Sam yesterday. I won’t go into specifics, but I think Sam has a very bright future in this league. … I’m excited about Sam. “
It was a departure in October 2019, when Douglas said that Darnold was the only untouchable player on the team’s list and that he would listen to commercial offers for anyone else. But Douglas and the Jets are now facing a major decision on the defender as to whether to stay with Darnold, who has had a terrible season, and try to support him with better talent around him or change Darnold and choose a No. 2 overall defender chooses in the April draft.
Douglas won’t make this call on his own, so he can’t answer that question right now. Douglas and the Jets need to find a new coach before making calls on the roster.
“Any major decision we make ahead in terms of the list, in terms of the free agency, the project, anything else, our new head coach will be a big part of this move forward,” Douglas said.
Darnold ended the season as the weakest passer in the NFL. He threw 11 interceptions and nine touchdowns in 12 games. Adam Gase was fired on Sunday in part because of his failure to get more from Darnold and the worst-ranked offensive in the NFL. Douglas apologized to Darnold on Tuesday.
“I think Sam has faced a lot of obstacles this year, just like everyone else,” Douglas said. “Given COVID and, honestly, I had quite a few injuries on the offensive line, in the wide position of the receiver. I think it was hard for our crime in general to really build sustained chemistry to create real success throughout the year. I think we had different groups of offensive lines throughout the season. We didn’t really have a chance to have the first three receivers on the field at the same time until Week 9. I think all of this affected not only Sam, but our offense as well. I think you saw, in December, Sam played a lot of good balls. Obviously, you saw that we managed to beat two teams in the playoffs and a lot of that is due to the way Sam played. “
Douglas and the Jets are now looking for a new coach. It is known that the team requested interviews with six candidates. Douglas is at the forefront of the search and said he is looking for an “excellent partner” with high integrity and a vision for what he wants to be the team’s identity.
There are six coaching openings around the NFL right now. Most people see that the Jets’ opening is close to the bottom of the list in terms of attractiveness, but Douglas said the team has a few outlets.
“I think there are a lot of good pieces here,” Douglas said. “I think there are some good young players. I think it’s our responsibility to try to build around the pieces we have in place. It is our responsibility to make the best decisions regarding the leader we bring, the players we choose from for free agency, the players we write. Obviously, we are delighted with the resources we have. We are excited to talk to a candidate who will come to this great city, this great market and this great fan base and really build something special that hasn’t been done here in a long time. I think there are interesting times for this franchise, for this fan base. “
Douglas said there will be a broad search and college coaches will be considered. Douglas said it’s hard to see Gase fired.
“I know people outside this building, they may not see it right now, but they’ve done some really good things here that will help us move forward,” Douglas said.
He also took the blame for the team’s 2-14 record in 2020.
“I certainly could have done a better job putting this list together, helping this staff, helping this team succeed,” Douglas said.