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New York Jets fans have consistently called out Woody Johnson as one of the worst owners in professional sports since he purchased the team in 2000. There was a feeling of dismay when Johnson was snubbed by the president as the team really needed another four-year break with Woody off ambassadoring in the UK. Johnson has been the primary reason for the team’s persistent failures, which include a 14-year playoff drought – the longest in North American sports.
Now, NFL players have weighed in and made it official. Woody Johnson is the worst owner in football. The NFL Players Association dropped its yearly team report cards and Jets players gave their team’s owner an F, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ meddlesome, spotlight-seeking personality rubs some people the wrong way. Jimmy Haslam has done nothing but lose since buying the Cleveland Browns and then he ensured that tradition would continue by handing alleged sexual predator Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. David Tepper has gone through six coaches in the seven years he’s owned the Carolina Panthers while openly disdaining fans. And Mark Davis is… well, he’s Mark Davis. And the Raiders can’t seem to overcome that fact.
Yet none of these people are as bad as Woody Johnson, according to Jets players. Woody’s F was the worst grade of all 32 owners. Tepper was close behind him with a D-. But Johnson is officially the league’s worst.
Last season the Jets’ complete and utter dysfunction came to light. Johnson reportedly nixed a trade for Jerry Jeudy because his Madden rating was too low. Woody allows his teenage sons to make important team decisions while they have free rein of the sidelines and locker room. One kid even handed out a game ball before Aaron Rodgers was able to do the honor.
But wait, there’s more. Johnson forced GM Joe Douglas to fire his longtime friend, even though Woody knew all along he planned to fire Douglas. Johnson shut down a deal Douglas had worked out to extend pass rusher Bryce Huff. And then, as expected, Woody fired Douglas.
As it turns out, the former Jets GM was actually relieved to be fired. That’s how bad the working environment was with the organization last season.
To Johnson’s credit, he did recently acknowledge mistakes he made with the team, saying he needs to look in the mirror and be a better owner. That’s a level of self-reflection and accountability that didn’t seem possible from Johnson. So, we’ll see if it lasts.
However, he’s off to a good start. Johnson hired Aaron Glenn as the team’s new head coach. And he appears to be willing to take a step back, allowing Glenn to build the Jets’ culture. For now, anyway.
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