Who's got it better than the LA Chargers? The New York Jets certainly don't.
The Jets have become the figurehead of dysfunction during the 2024 season. A season that was meant to be full of promise and potential turned into a season full of losses and finger-pointing. On Tuesday, this disastrous season arguably reached its magnum opus as general manager Joe Douglas was fired by owner Woody Johnson.
With Douglas now out of the picture, detailed stories of how dysfunctional the Jets have been this season are starting to be unveiled. And believe it or not, the Chargers actually played a role in the Jets' demise this season, even if it was by accident.
According to Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini of The Athletic, who outlined a litany of behind-the-scenes stories that caused the bottom to fall out in New York, Douglas and the Jets never quite recovered from losing former director of player personnel Chad Alexander, who took an assistant GM job with the Chargers.
The report states that on top of firing Douglas' assistant GM Rex Hogan (amid other micro-managing moves), Jets owner Woody Johnson did not allow Douglas to hire a replacement for Alexander. This, in turn, created a morale crater that was impossible to dig out of.
"In February, director of player personnel Chad Alexander left for an assistant GM job with the Los Angeles Chargers; Johnson didn’t allow Douglas to replace either of them. From then on, many in the Jets organization described Douglas as a shell of himself"
Chargers incidentally played a small role in the Jets' demise
The Chargers were not trying to be homewreckers when hiring Alexander away from the Jets but the hire inadvertently had that effect. While there was plenty more that went wrong behind the scenes because of Johnson, the Alexander move appears to be one of the most prominent factors.
Alexander couldn't have gotten out of New York at a better time. Douglas and his front office were once revered as one of the better groups in the league for how they built up the Jets roster. All that went to the wayside this season, even if it was not Douglas' fault.
Now, Alexander finds himself with an organization that has all but locked up a playoff spot in 2024 and has a bright future ahead. The Chargers have one of the best quarterback-head coach pairings in the league and as the front office continues to add talent, the team's Super Bowl chances will continue to go up.
This also should make Chargers fans appreciative of the Spanos family. As flawed as Dean Spanos is, and even though Alex Spanos does make football decisions, the Spanos family looks laissez-faire compared to Johnson in New York.
This Jets situation is yet another reminder that bad ownership in sports can derail an entire franchise for years. The Chargers inadvertently contributed to this mess in New York and hopefully, Spanos is taking notes and doesn't make the same mistakes in the future.