Keeping Saleh and Douglas Would be Wise

There’s no doubt some Jets' fans anticipated news on NFL Black Monday concerning their team. After another losing season at 7-10, and finishing the season on a six-game losing streak (including failing to score a touchdown in the final three games), they hoped something happened.

Nothing happened on Monday. Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Jets general manager Joe Douglas are employed for now. Embattled Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is still employed for now.

For those three, they have to be relieved. Jets' owner Woody Johnson has been known to make impulsive decisions. Just ask Herman Edwards and Eric Mangini, who Johnson fired for underachieving. Remember, Johnson made the decision to fire Mangini five minutes after the Dolphins eliminated the Jets in a 24-17 victory over their AFC East rival in the final game of the season.

It appears Saleh and Douglas could be safe. It would be the right decision.

Look, no one is saying either did a great job, but they did enough to earn one more season.

Yes, Douglas struck out on quarterback Zach Wilson, who may not have the size or arm to play in the NFL. He bombed hiring Saleh when he should have hired Doug Pederson as the head coach with the understanding that the Jets needed an offensive-minded coach to oversee the quarterback’s development.

But no one can deny the Jets general manager actually found talent through the draft with players such as Garrett Wilson (Rookie Offensive Player of the Year candidate), Breece Hall, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (Rookie Defensive Player of the Year favorite), Jermaine Johnson II, Denzel Mims, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Michael Carter. It’s an improvement over his predecessors John Idzik and Mike Maccagnan, who found little talent in their ill-fated stints as general manager.

Douglas probably wasn’t going to be in danger of losing his job. General managers like him are hard to find. His track record of finding talent going back to his days with the Baltimore Ravens should earned Johnson's trust.

As for Saleh, no one really knows if he can coach or not. A six-game losing streak and the team finishing the season with three straight games of no touchdowns serve as bad optics for the beleaguered head coach.

But to Saleh’s credit, the Jets improved to seven wins in his second season after a 4-13 campaign in his first season as the Jets head coach. Remember, the Jets were 7-4 at one point until Wilson flopped as quarterback and quarterback Mike White was injured with broken ribs in the game against the Buffalo Bills.

Saleh and his staff have done a fine job developing players, which is an important task of the job at hand.

He did enough to stay on for one more season. It’s hard to blame him for this finish, mainly because he did not have competent quarterback play down the stretch. He played White out of desperation against the Seattle Seahawks last week, and not surprisingly, his quarterback could not come through for him since his ribs were never healed. It also did not help that Jets running back Breece Hall had a season-ending ACL injury against the Denver Broncos this season. Oh, and Vera-Tucker and Mekhi Becton had season-ending injuries that had an effect with the team's offensive line, which played a role in the running game struggles.

It would be pointless to fire Saleh. Jim Harbaugh or Sean Payton won’t be coming to coach the Jets since they don’t have a quarterback. I doubt Harbaugh wants any part of the New York experience, and there’s no guarantee Payton is even coaching in the NFL next season.

Hiring a coach to learn on the job would be counterproductive in a year where the playoffs should be the goal next season. This is not what the franchise needs to keep moving forward. What this franchise needs at this point is stability. This is why it makes sense to retain Saleh and his staff for one more year to get it right.

The Jets know what they have in Saleh. They don’t know what they would get hiring a hotshot coordinator to be the head coach in a demanding market that features a frustrated fanbase. It would be wise to keep the coach they know instead of bringing in a coach they don’t know.

Eventually, Douglas and Saleh need to deliver. The bar is not even set high for them. Making the playoffs next season would give them a contract extension. Most importantly, it would give the franchise the stability that Johnson craves.

For them to get it right, they need to get a quarterback for next season. This is a key task for them this offseason. This means either signing Jimmy Garoppolo or acquiring Derek Carr, who is going to be trade bait. But acquiring Carr won’t be easy since many teams could use a quarterback like him, so they need to find a way to sign Garoppolo as a free agent.

Acquiring Aaron Rodgers should not be an option since he likely has no interest in playing here. My guess is that he is likely going to retire rather than go through the charade and grind of football.

Douglas’ and Saleh’s job security hinges on getting the quarterback situation right this offseason and this coming season.

They have earned the right to figure it out.

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