The last few weeks have shown front and center why a change is once again needed for the New York Jets.
Regardless of the business, communication is the key to success. Lack of communication in a business can quickly send a promising business into a downward spiral.Think of a business like a millipede. It takes a lot of moving parts (legs) to move ahead successfully. If some of those legs are trying to go left, while some of them try to go right, the result is the entire body moves in a circle.
Football is a business that follows the same bylaws, both on and off the field. When there is a miscommunication between a quarterback and his receiver, the ensuing play looks like a disaster. When the offensive line isn’t properly communicating, the quarterback and running back can have their clocks cleaned quite easily. When the coaching staff and/or front office experience miscommunication and form disconnect, the result still trickles down to the players on the field, no matter how talented they may be.
Lack of communication at the coaching level for the New York Jets has been front and center lately. The miscommunication between the coaching staff is extremely alarming. Most recently, there has been a lot of disconnect on all levels when it comes to the quarterback position.
When Ryan Fitzpatrick sat out the Week 10 contest against the Los Angeles Rams and Bryce Petty started in his place, most were surprised when Todd Bowles went back to Ryan Fitzpatrick, who stated starting Fitz gave them the best chance to win.
Shortly after making that comment, the disconnect would begin to surface.
“[Petty] needs all of the work he can get,” offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said, via Connor Hughes of NJ.com. “Just like every young player needs all of the work they can get. It helps to play in games.”
The problem isn’t in what Gailey said, as he makes a valid point, but rather what he said was a direct contradiction of the direction head coach Todd Bowles was apparently heading. Seeing the head coach and offensive coordinator being on different pages on something as important as who should be playing quarterback, while the team is struggling offensively, is a huge problem.
Following the Jets dumpster fire of a performance against the Indianapolis Colts this past Monday, it became clear that the miscommunication goes deeper than just the coaching staff.
Coach Todd Bowles had a change of heart with who to start at quarterback for the rest of the season when the New York Jets were officially eliminated from playoff contention following the loss on Monday Night. Ryan Fitzpatrick was not informed of the decision by Todd Bowles, but rather learned about it mere moments before having to address the media, who had already been informed of the decision.
If putting Fitz in a bad spot wasn’t bad enough, the decision was apparently made long before the post-game press conference and had nothing to do with the result of Monday’s loss.
“We could have won 45-0 and he was going to start the last four games.” That’s the slot we had penciled in for him. That’s a good time to take a look at him.” Bowles stated after the game.
If that was the case, why wasn’t Fitz informed of this decision when it had become decided?
At the least, Bowles could have been in communication with Fitz after he benched him at halftime or immediately following the game in the locker room before informing the media. The rest of the team was in the dark about the decision as well, and it could very well spell disconnect between players and coached.
“I’d been meaning to tell him and I got tied up with a few things,” said Bowles. “Like I said, I had a lot on my mind and got some things off my chest, and it kind of went over the wrong way. I’ll talk to him [Wednesday morning].”
If Bowles and his staff are too busy to communicate, there are many others that can. Sometimes, even if it causes slow progress, removing the “legs” that are moving left will prevent the team from going into circles.
