Things have gotten so bad with the New York Jets recently that the team has actually reportedly considered signing the former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing, who is the team’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, calling it.
According to SNY’s Connor Hughescurrent former head coach Robert Saleh, who was abruptly fired on Tuesdayplanned to demote offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and give Downing play-calling duties. However, just five minutes after making this decision, Saleh was sent off.
Asked about the possibility of a change in game manager following Saleh’s firing, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said he does not anticipate any personnel changes when speaking to the media on Tuesday .
“Everything will be evaluated: the process, the responsibilities, etc., but I do not foresee any changes in personnel,” he said.
Judging by the timing of the decision and Saleh’s firing, one would think the decision to go to Downing was the final straw for owner Woody Johnson.
That likely would have left quarterback Aaron Rodgers angry given his relationship with Hackett, which would have been the biggest problem Saleh would have faced with such a move.
The other problem would have been that Downing just isn’t a good player. He showed how bad he could be during two years running the Titans offense, when Tennessee sported the No. 15 scoring unit in 2021 and then the No. 28 offense in 2022.
Downing’s offenses lacked creativity and were about as predictable as possible. Former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel foolishly stuck with Downing despite what everyone saw, and the team paid dearly for it.
He also had a terrible stint as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator during the 2017 campaign, when the team’s offense finished 23rd in the standings.
Downing also had off-the-field issues during his time in Nashville. After the Titans finally had a good game under his watch in 2022 against the Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers, Downing was arrested for drunk driving in the hours following the match.
The fact that Downing landed another close job with an NFL offense after what we saw with the Titans was shocking to say the least, but these are the Jets we’re talking about.
What’s more laughable is that New York hired Hackett and Downing in the same year after they were two of the worst players in the NFL. Of course, Hackett was coming off his disastrous stint with the Denver Broncos, where his offense was even worse than Downing’s, ranking dead last in the NFL in 2022.
