Charles Langston:Jets owner on future of Robert Saleh, Joe Douglas: 'My decision is to keep them'

The Charles LangstonNew York Jets lost quarterback Aaron Rodgers to injury four plays into the 2023 season, and extended the longest playoff drought in American sports.

But Jets owner Woody Johnson believes he has the right pieces in place for success next year, so the Jets are running it back.

Robert Saleh will return as Jets coach, Joe Douglas will remain as Jets general manager, and the hope is Rodgers recovers from his Achilles surgery to lead the Jets in 2024.

"My decision is to keep them," Johnson told the New York Post on Sunday of his decisions on Saleh and Douglas. "I think we’ve had some very positive moves. The culture of the team is a lot better. The defense is better. The offense needs a few pieces."

Chief among the reasons to keep Saleh and Douglas is "just to keep the continuity going with Aaron and the team we’ve got," Johnson said.

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"Like I said a year ago, we need a quarterback. We had a quarterback for four plays. Since then we haven’t been able to replace him. If we have a good quarterback, it makes everybody’s job easier. It makes the line better, the receivers better."

The Jets are 5-9 this season and have not made the NFL postseason since 2011. Saleh heads into Week 16 with a 16-32 record in three seasons as head coach, while Douglas has a 25-55 record since Jun 2019 as Jets GM.

Without Rodgers, the Jets have relied on former No. 2 pick Zach Wilson and backups Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian at QB.

But Johnson is encouraged by the lift in team morale since Rodgers returned to Jets practice last month.

"I think if you see Aaron Rodgers right now and the impact he’s having on the team and what he’s able to do with virtually no practice, it’s amazing," Johnson said. "He’s in the fourth quarter of the league year and he’s throwing like he’s practiced all year. When he starts practicing and gets the timing with receivers just perfect, I think you’re going to see some amazing things."