It’s a rite of passage for any former New York Jets player to shade the organization whenever they find success elsewhere.
Jets fans are used to it — even if they cannot stand it.
The recent comments made by Davante Adams and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, however, incite even more frustration than the fan base is already feeling. Coming off a 3-14 season, that’s what will happen when both players are in the postseason with their new team.
Gang Green’s faithful following doesn’t want to hear it. They deserve more than their current 15-year playoff drought (the longest active playoff drought in North American sports).
On the downside, they’ll continue to hear it until something changes. The good news may be fleeting, but it’s simultaneously and provably in reach.
If they want to stop being the but of jokes from their former players, then one person in the organization must change the organization’s overall thought process.
It starts at the top.
Woody Johnson holds the cards
Before his team’s victory in Carolina on Saturday, Adams made comments during the pregame show on FOX that directly criticized the Jets’ organizational thought process.
“If you don’t bring your best stuff, you’re gonna be at home with the Jets,” Adams said while sitting alongside teammate Puka Nacua.
“If you don’t bring your best stuff, you’re gonna be at home with the Jets” – Davante Adams with a shot at his former squad pic.twitter.com/ihVstjziB2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2026
Following his AFC North-clinching win with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers also got in on the action, saying, “One thing I really love, and it’s kind of the antithesis of where I was (the Jets), is there’s not any leaks in the boat.”
These two comments can frustrate fans, but they directly reflect on Jets chairman Woody Johnson. The leader of the organization since 2000, Johnson has seen the franchise’s very best (back-to-back trips to the conference title in the late 2000s) and its very worst (the last decade and a half).
Through it all, though, his mindset hasn’t changed.
He believes winning on Sunday consists of fielding a tough-nosed organization built out by strong defense and a workman-like running game. Johnson can point to what worked for the organization in decades past as a reason for that line of thinking.
It’s also why the Jets are where they are.
Leaks in organizations come when people try to save their jobs at every corner. They come when there’s an overall lack of trust in the football operation, or if their belief in what needs to be fixed isn’t being heard.
In that case, Johnson remains his football team’s greatest hurdle — not necessarily because he’s a meddlesome owner like Jerry Jones, but instead because he seemingly wants his team to play a style of football that no longer yields success. It’s tough to think of any other way, given his head coaching hires.
There’s only one way to fix it.
How Woody can fix the Jets
From Rex Ryan to Todd Bowles, Robert Saleh to the current head coach, Aaron Glenn, the Jets have brought in defensive-minded individuals to fix the “culture” of the locker room without realizing what actually fixes “culture.” (Yes, Christopher Johnson technically hired Saleh, but if any fan believes Woody had no say is just uber-dizzy.)
New York needs fresh ideas as a coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball.
They need to adapt to the modern NFL game, which emphasizes scheme-beating and/or aiding talent and athleticism. This is how top organizations operate, which also means grasping the type of offensive mindset that can achieve success in today’s sport.
Retread coaches are a dangerous thing in the modern NFL. There is a reason why coaches like Kevin Stefanski or John Harbaugh are available in the current cycle.
What the Jets need isn’t a guy who’s done it before; they need someone with a new mindset and fresh way of thinking. Woody needs a football man who thinks like a quarterback, someone who can develop whoever is playing the position, and create the correct roadmap towards quarterback efficiency.
It all boils down to Woody Johnson’s philosophy needing a major shift. If he wants his organization to stop being the joke of former players, the leaks and culture can only be fixed when he brings it into the modern era.
Until he does, the issues will remain the same for the New York Jets.