The New York Jets are in a familiar spot, but it's an unusual situation.

With the season having spiraled into oblivion, it appears the Jets will blow it up and they've already started by dismissing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas. That means they need to find a general manager, a head coach and apparently a new quarterback. Obviously, identifying the general manager owner Woody Johnson's first challenge.

Looking back at the Douglas years has me wondering if it was justified to axe him?

The easy answer is yes, but it's fair to say that he wasn't operating under ideal circumstances from the start.

Ownership made the wrong decision six years ago by letting new head coach Adam Gase help in the GM hiring process even after the NFL Draft was over. Not to mention, Douglas should have been on-boarded prior to the Draft since it's a pretty relevant event to the new man in charge of the team's personnel. .

Before getting into the weeds on why Joe Douglas should've been fired, to add onto his situation with the Jets, reports from The Athletic suggest it's one to cringe at if you're a Jets fan. There is apparently a lot of meddling by Johnson in the daily affairs at 1 Jets Drive. The idea of the owner even suggesting to bench four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers is questionable at best.

Meanwhile, the track record that Douglas built with the Jets was not pretty. He ended his six-year run with a 30-64 overall record and never even sniffed the playoffs. New York never finished with more than seven wins in any season, which isn't exactly a high bar to clear.

When it came to his biggest mishaps as the general manager you have to look at the primary positions of need at draft time. Douglas missed on Top 15 pick left tackle Mekhi Becton and second overall QB pick Zach Wilson. Then, in 2023, he went will DE Will McDonald IV in Round 1 when the team desperately needed offensive line help. McDonald is having himself a solid second year, but when you consider that current Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba was available at the time of the selection, it's a hard pill to swallow.

People are going to hold onto the 2022 draft haul as evidence that Douglas was effective. He selected Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall all within the first 36 picks. The Jets have not even come close to the playoffs with those guys, however, so there's no reason to anoint Douglas. A team needs more than three good players, and he hasn't been able to build a roster suited for sustainable success.

Even his free agent signings have been mediocre at best. When you look at the contracts of Allen Lazard (4 years, $44 million) or even Dalvin Cook (1 year, $6 million) last year, it reflects poorly on the general manager.

In an all-in season for the Jets in 2024, the writing was on the wall for Joe Douglas once the Jets were all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Firing him now was actually the right move for Johnson to make and it gives him a jump of the new GM search.

And just like that, the carousel continues to spin at the circus in Florham Park.