Maybe this will lead the New York Jets out of the darkness. Maybe, years from now, they will look back at Gregg Williams and his "Cover 0" fiasco as their zero hour. Sometimes an organization has to hit bottom before it can rise.
If this leads the Jets to draft quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and he fulfills his immense potential, Williams will be remembered as their version of Joe Pisarcik, he of the infamous 1978 fumble in the "Miracle at the Meadowlands." That all-time blooper plunged the hapless New York Giants into chaos, which led to a housecleaning, which led to the hiring of general manager George Young, who rebuilt them into champions.
Williams fumbled, too, and his cost him his job on Monday morning. The man who fired him, coach Adam Gase, soon will be joining him in the ranks of the unemployed, so don't get too caught up in that dynamic. The bigger story here is whether the front office and ownership can learn from their mistakes and apply the lessons to the immediate future -- the Jets' next coaching search.
Right now, the culture stinks, in part, because of a flawed organizational structure.
Gase and Williams were an arranged marriage, just like a lot of the important tandems in recent Jets history (Gase-Mike Maccagnan, Maccagnan-Todd Bowles and Rex Ryan-John Idzik). They rarely work. When Jets brass interviewed Gase for the head-coaching job in January 2019, it already had its sights set on Williams as the defensive coordinator. They brought the idea to Gase and he signed off because he really wanted the job.
He promised autonomy to Williams. I'll stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine. Essentially, the Jets were led by two head coaches -- or two coordinators, depending on how you look at it. It worked reasonably well for a year, as they avoided any public spats and the team rallied to a 7-9 record in 2019.
This season was a different story; cracks started to show in their ill-conceived foundation. Williams started making weird personnel decisions, turning Marcus Maye into a strong safety (that didn't last long), benching cornerback Pierre Desir a few times and -- the ultimate clunker -- starting washed-up linebacker Alec Ogletree over respected veteran Avery Williamson in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers. Ogletree, a Williams favorite from their time with the Los Angeles Rams, was so slow and out of shape that he couldn't run down a parking meter.
Publicly, Gase kept the peace, never questioning the decisions. He stayed out of Williams' way, letting his headstrong coordinator rule his own kingdom. There were times when Gase didn't know about lineup changes on defense until late Friday afternoon.
This is not how to run an organization. The coach should be the boss of the entire team, not just one side of the ball. When they hire the next coach, it should be a CEO-type, someone who is willing to step out of his comfort zone and be a leader for 53 players. See: Giants coach Joe Judge, a former special teams coordinator. The new coach also should have the power to pick his own staff; none of this shotgun-marriage stuff.
The Gase-Williams dynamic created division at One Jets Drive, offense versus defense. It was like that under Ryan and Bowles, both of whom focused on their specialty, the defense. The split became more pronounced under Gase and Williams, who operated in parallel universes.
The tension spiked in October, when Williams said he was "sick" that the defense was allowing 30 points per game but that it wasn't only a defensive issue. Asked to elaborate, he shot back, "You can figure it out" -- a not-so-veiled shot at Gase's offense. Privately, Gase fumed, angry Williams had violated his edict to the team: Whatever happens, don't point fingers.
The ultimate disconnect occurred Sunday, when Gase heard in his headset that Williams was calling a "Cover 0" blitz with a four-point lead and 13 seconds on the clock. Who does that? It was an ego call that defied football logic. It was Williams, he of BountyGate infamy, telling everyone, "I'll show 'em. We'll end the game with a sack."
Gase could have interceded, but, no, he was too preoccupied with another matter.
"Sometimes during a game, you're talking through a bunch of situations and that comes up," he said, meaning a decision not related to the offense. "I wish I would have called timeout, but I didn’t."
As a result, he let Gregg be Gregg -- overly aggressive, thirsting for the knockout blow. Williams made a bad call, but Gase deserves blame, too. He did nothing to stop it. He watched his inexperienced and overmatched defense get played by Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr. They knew Williams would send the house, a Raiders source said, and they adjusted accordingly.
Boom! A 46-yard touchdown strike to Henry Ruggs III. Game over.
Jets fans rejoiced because it brought them one step closer to Lawrence, the presumptive No. 1 pick. In reality, the Clemson Tigers star won't change the future if this franchise fails to learn from its past and the present.