Jets owner Woody Johnson selected Mike Maccagnan as general manager and Todd Bowles as head coach to lead his franchise on Jan. 14, 2015.
On Thursday, it will be 686 days since that decision. How much better are the Jets now than they were then?
It is a startling question to consider two years into a regime, but there currently are very few signs the Jets are in a better place in December 2016 than they were in December 2014, when Rex Ryan and John Idzik were in their final days with the team.
Two years ago Thursday, the Jets lost to the Dolphins 16-13 on a Monday night at MetLife Stadium, a game best remembered for Geno Smith throwing just 13 passes. The loss dropped the Jets to 2-10 in that miserable season, another loss as they played out the string. This Monday, the Jets face the Colts at MetLife Stadium. They are 3-8 and the season ended before Thanksgiving.
Through 27 games, the Maccagnan/Bowles Jets look a whole lot like the Idzik/Ryan Jets. They still have no answer at quarterback. In 2014, there still was some hope for Smith. Now, they have two quarterbacks they are scared to put on the field and Ryan Fitzpatrick playing out his final days as a Jet.
The Jets overachieved in 2015, going 10-6 but falling short of the playoffs before bottoming out this year. It is similar pattern to the 2013 Jets overachieving to go 8-8 and missing the playoffs, then cratering in 2014 and going 4-12.
Just as in 2014, this roster is full of holes. Jot down a list of draft needs for the Jets and you are basically filling out a depth chart. Outside of defensive line, you could argue every other position is one that needs to be addressed. There is no evidence Maccagnan’s first two draft classes are any better than Idzik’s. Like Idzik, Maccagnan landed a stud defensive lineman in the first round of his first draft. Like Idzik, there is very little else to be confident in.
Bowles has shown many of the same frustrating traits Ryan did without the early success Rex enjoyed with the Jets. There still are game-management issues, 12-men-on-the-field penalties, inexplicable timeouts and discipline issues off the field. On top of that, Bowles’ defense this year has been abysmal. The group makes no impact plays and spent the first half of the season watching the ball get thrown over their heads.
Maccagnan and Bowles’ plan when they took over to try to remain competitive while building through the draft was flawed. They patched holes with 30-year-old players. If they had made the playoffs last year, they would have bought some time. Instead the playoff drought is about to hit six years, the longest since 1992-97. The spending spree of 2015 looks foolish in hindsight. It has left the roster with some bloated contracts and veterans who don’t fit the future.
With Year 3 of this regime beginning in a few weeks, where is this organization at? The Jets say there is a plan; trust them. Well, in Year 3, there should be more production than plan. Next year is when the plan should be coming to fruition. Instead, it feels like the Jets will be hitting the reset button … again.
But that reset button comes with one big difference from 2014. It appears Bowles and Maccagnan will survive this awful season. There are no planes circling the building or billboards calling for anyone to be fired.
That almost makes this season feel worse than 2014 for fans. At least then, there was the hope of a new regime coming in, loads of salary-cap space and the optimism that comes with a fresh start.
What can fans get excited about now? Another miserable Monday night at MetLife?
Jets fans deserve better.