After presiding over five playoff seasons in the 2000s, the Johnson family made a handful of costly mistakes that prevented the franchise from building on its positive momentum. The common thread: bad hires and bad marriages. There were five coach-general manager tandems, three of which were undermined by dysfunction.
Owner Woody Johnson retained Ryan in 2013 and used an independent search firm to find his general manager. The result was John Idzik, a salary-cap expert with limited scouting experience. His mistakes, coupled with his toxic relationship with Ryan, left the organization in disarray.
Starting over in 2015, Johnson once again solicited outside help, hiring consultants Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf to lead the search for new football leadership. The Mike Maccagnan-Todd Bowles pairing, Casserley's brainchild, was a union of football strangers. It slowly deteriorated.
Johnson left for London to work for President Donald Trump and in came CEO Christopher Johnson, whose inexperience and lack of decisiveness played out over a bizarre five months. He fired Bowles, kept Maccagnan, hired coach Adam Gase and, sensing a lack of synergy between Gase and Maccagnan, fired his GM after the draft. It wasn't one of the franchise's finest moments.
Lesson learned: Compatibility matters.
It took a decade, but maybe they finally got it right with Gase and Joe Douglas, who is about to embark on his first offseason as GM. No one knows if they will succeed in their respective jobs -- Gase's coaching performance certainly raised questions -- but they have been friends for a few years and appear to be aligned philosophically. After all, Gase basically handpicked Douglas for the job. That could complicate matters in the future, considering both report to Christopher Johnson. Woody Johnson's inevitable return from his ambassadorship could add a wrinkle. For now, Douglas and Gase are joined at the hip, preparing to attack the offseason and remake the roster according to their vision.
Owner Woody Johnson retained Ryan in 2013 and used an independent search firm to find his general manager. The result was John Idzik, a salary-cap expert with limited scouting experience. His mistakes, coupled with his toxic relationship with Ryan, left the organization in disarray.
Starting over in 2015, Johnson once again solicited outside help, hiring consultants Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf to lead the search for new football leadership. The Mike Maccagnan-Todd Bowles pairing, Casserley's brainchild, was a union of football strangers. It slowly deteriorated.
Johnson left for London to work for President Donald Trump and in came CEO Christopher Johnson, whose inexperience and lack of decisiveness played out over a bizarre five months. He fired Bowles, kept Maccagnan, hired coach Adam Gase and, sensing a lack of synergy between Gase and Maccagnan, fired his GM after the draft. It wasn't one of the franchise's finest moments.
Lesson learned: Compatibility matters.
It took a decade, but maybe they finally got it right with Gase and Joe Douglas, who is about to embark on his first offseason as GM. No one knows if they will succeed in their respective jobs -- Gase's coaching performance certainly raised questions -- but they have been friends for a few years and appear to be aligned philosophically. After all, Gase basically handpicked Douglas for the job. That could complicate matters in the future, considering both report to Christopher Johnson. Woody Johnson's inevitable return from his ambassadorship could add a wrinkle. For now, Douglas and Gase are joined at the hip, preparing to attack the offseason and remake the roster according to their vision.
