Jets general manager Joe Douglas opened the door on Tuesday to the possibility of the team changing quarterback Sam Darnold.
Douglas praised Darnold, but stopped committing to him as the team’s quarterback in 2021.
“We have a lot of decisions to make,” Douglas said. “I think Sam will be a great quarterback. I’m excited to get a head coach here, go through our process. Yesterday I had a great conversation with Sam. I won’t go into details, 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 Darnold was the only untouchable player on the team’s roster and that he listened to commercial offers for anyone else. But Douglas and the Jets are now facing an important decision on the quarterback on whether to stay with Darnold, who had a terrible season, and try to prop him up with better talent around him or change Darnold and select a quarterback with the number 2 general. choose in the April draft.
Douglas won’t make that call on his own, so right now he can’t answer that question. Douglas and the Jets need to find a new coach before making calls on the roster.
“Any important decision we have going forward when it comes to the roster, in terms of free agency, draft, whatever, our new head coach will be an important part of that advancement,” Douglas said.
Darnold finished the season as the NFL’s most underrated passer. He threw 11 interceptions and nine touchdowns in 12 games. Adam Gase was fired Sunday, in part because of his failure to take more advantage of Darnold and the worst-ranked foul in the NFL. Douglas apologized to Darnold on Tuesday.
“I think Sam faced a lot of hurdles this year, just like everyone else,” Douglas said. “Concerning COVID and, frankly, we had a lot of injuries on the offensive line, in the position of the wide receiver. I think it was hard for our offense in general to really build sustained chemistry to really create success year-round. I think we’ve had different offensive groups throughout the season. We didn’t really get a chance to have our top three receivers on the field at the same time until week 9. I think all of these things affected not only Sam, but they affected our offense. I think you saw, in December, Sam was playing a good ball. Obviously, you saw that we were able to beat two playoff teams and a lot of that is due to how Sam played.
Douglas and the Jets are now beginning the search for a new coach. The team is known to have requested interviews with six candidates. Douglas leads the search and said he was looking for a “great partner” with high integrity and a vision of what he wants the team’s identity to be.
Right now, there are six coaching openings to the NFL. Most people see the Jets ’opening almost at the bottom of this list in terms of attractiveness, but Douglas said the team has some outlets.
“I think there are a lot of good pieces here,” Douglas said. “I think there are good and young central 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 lead, the players we choose in free agency, the players we draft. Viouslybviament, we are excited about the resources we have. We’re excited to talk to a candidate to come to this great city, this great market and this fantastic fan base and really build something special that hasn’t been done here for a long time. I think these are exciting times for this franchise, for this fan base. “
Douglas said it will be extensive research and that college coaches will be considered. Douglas said it was hard to see Gase shooting.
“I know people outside this building, they may not see it right now, but he did 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.