New York Jets: Time to Effect a Culture Change

For the New York Jets to rebound from a poor 2016 season, the culture around the team simply has to change.

New York Jets fans are more than ready to put the season of 2016 behind them. After falling one win short of the playoffs in 2015, it all fell apart in 2016 leading to a 5-11 record. It was so bad that much of the fanbase was calling for head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan to both be fired. Following the final game, Woody Johnson announced that both would be back for another year, so the pressure is on them to produce this offseason.

It’s no secret that the roster has to change. The Jets have aging players that have past their prime and make a lot of money (RE: Darrelle Revis). Well-known Jets such as Nick Mangold, David Harris and even Brandon Marshall may not wear green again. The roster was clearly not set for the long haul. But, there is something else that has to change, and it’s on Bowles and Maccagnan to make it happen.

The culture absolutely must change.

Richard Rodgers of the Jet Press talked about this from a player’s standpoint. He makes a great point about the behavior of Sheldon Richardson here:

"The problem with Richardson has been the off the field behavior as he has been a part of multiple issues including altercations with teammates, showing up late to meetings, and violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. If the Jets really caring about building a winner, they will need to get rid of Richardson no matter what it is that they get in return."

He nails it on the head about Richardson’s behavior. Richardson has no business being on this roster, as he takes the focus away from football. His talent, which is immense, will always be overshadowed by his behavior. The Jets don’t need people like this inside their locker room.

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But it’s more than that. They also must create a culture where problems stay in-house. It needs to be like Las Vegas: “What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.” That’s on Bowles.

Richardson and Marshall had problems starting back in Week 3 against the Chiefs. They had a verbal disagreement in the locker room, which Todd Bowles stated he handled immediately, per Mike Coppinger of USA Today. We heard from Richardson again after his now famous Snapchat recording. The punishment for that was never revealed, but was believed to be a fine.

It continued later on. Following the Week 16 loss to the Patriots, Marshall said he was “embarrassed” by the 41-3 drubbing they received. Richardson responded by saying that Marshall should be embarrassed, per Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News. The two haven’t spoken since.

Then, following the season-ending win over Buffalo, we learned how far-reaching this problem was. Darrelle Revis had some pretty telling words about the situation, as told to Daniel Popper of the NY Daily News:

"“During that game, we wasn’t on the same page as players. It happened on the sideline and it trickled into the locker room after the game,” Darrelle Revis said Sunday after the Jets’ 30-10 victory over the Bills at MetLife Stadium. “It just left a dark cloud over our head.“Adversity always strikes for a team. And we tried to nip it in the bud. We actually did move forward and we thought we were OK because we thought we had the guys that were mature enough to handle the situation and move forward. But eventually, it unraveled for us.”"

This is not a winning culture for a couple of reasons, and they both fall back on Bowles.

First of all, problems like this should not fester over a locker room for an entire season. They must be nipped in the bud so they don’t leave a “dark cloud” over the team’s head. These are grown men playing a violent game so there are going to be disputes. Most teams are able to get past those disputes and get back on track. The Jets were not able to do it. Bowles said he handled it. He didn’t do a good job, and he must.

Secondly, we go back to the Vegas analogy. Right now, it is deemed acceptable for the players to talk about their problems within the locker room publicly. That cannot continue. It takes the focus away from football. Do you think the Patriots players never have arguments, even confrontations? Of course they do. They just don’t go public, because they know they will have to deal with Belichick if they do. They keep their problems between their walls and “do their jobs.”

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That’s why the Jets have had five head coaches since Belichick took over in New England. They focus on football, and just keep on winning. The Jets must change the culture in the locker room immediately. If they don’t, it won’t matter how many roster changes they make, the results will stay the same.

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