Frustrated wide receiver Garrett Wilson raised eyebrows when he said shortly after the New York Jets' latest defeat that it feels like the organization has "a losing problem" and/or a losing "gene."
On Wednesday, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers acknowledged there "might be some sort of curse we’ve got to snap" amid the longest active playoff drought in the four major North American sports leagues that the Jets recently extended to 14 consecutive seasons.
"The culture is built by the players," Rodgers said, as shared by Brian Costello of the New York Post. "There’s a framework set down by the organization, by the upper ups, by the staff, but in the end, it’s the players that make it come to life. At some point, everybody is going to have to figure out what that special sauce is to turn those games that should be wins into wins."
Long before the Jets lost nine of 10 games to fall from 2-1 to 3-10 on the season, an anonymous NFL agent said that "the vibe" within the organization was "terrible." More recently, NFL insider Dan Graziano of ESPN noted that the Jets' "team culture is either terrible or nonexistent."
Jets owner Woody Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season. It's widely expected that Johnson will officially move on from Rodgers when the new league year opens in March.
"I think, in general, your best players have to be your best people and they have to lead the way with their attitude, with their practice habits, with their leadership, with the way they’re talking to the media, with the way they are out in public. I think that’s an important part of setting the standard for the locker room," Rodgers added about an NFL team building the proper culture. "It’s a group that has to find that gel and spend time together and enjoy each other enough to take the work outside and spend time and just hold each other accountable at work and kind of let the ego go away."
It was reported last week that former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel could consider the Jets as a landing spot depending on who Johnson hires as the team's next GM. For a piece published Thursday, ESPN's Bill Barnwell mentioned that Vrabel, a one-time Associated Press Coach of the Year Award winner, is somebody "with experience who can rebuild the team's culture."
With that said, the Las Vegas Raiders could pursue Vrabel next month in part because of his relationship with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady.
