Joe Douglas, Robert Saleh finally reaping benefits of their Jets vision

Robert Saleh delivered a calendar reminder to anyone getting carried away after Thursday night’s Jets win.

“It’s only Week 3, buddy,” Saleh said.

This is true. But in many years the Jets’ hopes were already slipping away by this point of the season. The Jets seem to win every offseason and the good vibes are always high between March and August. Then, like the leaves changing colors, the Jets’ hopes turn from “We can be a good team” to “Is someone going to get fired?”

Before this season, the Jets were 2-16 in September dating back to the second game of the 2018 season. For many Jets fans, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” was their theme song.

So, what Saleh is saying is true. It’s early. The Patriots are not a good football team. The 24-3 win on Thursday night may be an aberration.

But …

It’s also hard not to take what you saw Thursday night and start thinking about just how good the Jets could be this season. Aaron Rodgers was surgical. The defense was dominant. The Jets look like they have a special thing at running back with Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. Garrett Wilson has not even gotten going yet.

After watching that win over the Patriots, it’s hard not to expect double-digit wins from these Jets.

This is the team that Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh have been building over their time together. It was supposed to arrive last year but Rodgers’ injury delayed the schedule. Now, we can see a talented, deep team that does not have many weaknesses.

This is a make-or-break year for the Douglas and Saleh regime. They are out of mulligans and excuses. They either win and save their jobs this season or they will be cleaning out their offices come January. They both know this and are not running from it.

Thursday night was the first true evidence they have built a contender that can keep them employed. The win in Tennessee last week was nice but it was hardly overwhelming. The win over the Patriots was convincing.

It is too soon to say this is a validation for Douglas and Saleh. There are 14 more games to go and, to be fair, September is not the only month that has presented issues for this franchise. But the duo deserves credit for what they’ve built.

First, they acknowledged the mistake that was drafting Zach Wilson and decided to move on after his second season. Douglas and Saleh recruited Rodgers and convinced the four-time MVP to join a franchise that has not made the playoffs since 2010 and is widely viewed as a punch line by the national media.

Douglas has built the Jets steadily, landing stars Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Hall in what might go down as the best draft in Jets history when their careers are over. He supplemented that with sneaky good free agent signings like Tyler Conklin and D.J. Reed. He has made his share of mistakes both in the draft and in free agency but every GM has. Douglas has not been stubborn about moving on from his mistakes.

Another strength Douglas possesses is not letting outside criticism change who he is. Many GMs facing a win-or-else year would have thrown around stupid money in free agency or taken risks on character. He rebuilt the Jets offensive line without overspending this offseason and the Jets locker room is filled with good character players.

That Will McDonald pick in 2023 does not look so bad after the last two weeks, either.

Yes, Douglas misplayed this Haason Reddick trade but the final chapter is not written on that and maybe he can rewrite the ending.

As for Saleh, many point to his 20-34 record and say it is proof he can’t coach. But Saleh has built a strong defense and overseen a culture change. Remember where the Jets were when he arrived in 2021 coming off a disastrous 2-14 season with little talent in the building and malcontents in the locker room. Saleh has flipped the feeling around inside the organization.

Saleh managed this opening stretch for the Jets deftly. He and his staff spent this offseason figuring out the best way to keep players fresh for three games in 11 days and it worked. The Jets were flying around Thursday night and the team is now 2-1 for the first time since 2015.

There is still a long way to go for Douglas and Saleh to show they deserve to be back in 2025 and this thing truly has been turned around. But the dismantling of the Patriots sure looked like they are heading in that direction, buddy.