Jets firing Joe Douglas proves Pat McAfee's boneheaded Packers take wrong
By Ryan Heckman
As the Green Bay Packers continue feeling good about handing the Chicago Bears a heartbreaking loss this past Sunday, more reasons for fans to smirk just kept coming.
Tuesday morning, it was announced that the New York Jets had fired general manager Joe Douglas. Why does this have anything to do with the Packers? Oh, there's plenty of reason.
Of course, Douglas was the GM who originally traded for Aaron Rodgers, and that entire saga was one fans will never forget for many reasons.
Back in March of 2023, before Rodgers was ever traded to the Jets, NFL insider Ian Rapoport appeared on the air with Pat McAfee to discuss the impending deal. The big question was why it was taking so long for a trade to get done, and Rapoport noted that the "smart people" are having a hard time coming to terms.
Rapoport was referring to both Joe Douglas and Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, to which McAfee had a snarky remark.
"Oh, Gutekunst, we're just automatically assuming is a smart person?" McAfee asked Rapoport.
Over the past year and a half, Packers fans have had field days with that quote. They don't forget, nor should they. Gutekunst looks like a total genius now, by comparison, and Douglas is out of a job.
McAfee essentially would go on, in that segment, to call Gutekunst a "s***ty f***ing GM" just seconds later.
Ah yes, Packers fans will never forget.
Brian Gutekunst is getting the last laugh over Aaron Rodgers and the Jets
In this scenario, Gutekunst ended up being the smarter man in the room by a mile. Look at the disaster the Jets have become since trading for Rodgers.
Not only are the Jets without some serious draft capital, but Rodgers missed his entire first year with New York due to injury. Now, that obviously couldn't have been predicted, but it happened.
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Now, in his first full season with the Jets, the team is even worse off than they were with a quarterback like Zach Wilson. At 3-8, the Jets' season is effectively over.
They attempted to salvage the year by firing head coach Robert Salah (thanks, New York).
Then, the Jets went out and traded for Davante Adams.
All the while, Rodgers has basically played GM for the Jets since his arrival, likely being the main reason behind New York bringing in so many of his former buddies, whether it be players or coaches.
And yet, the Jets' season is going down the drain in a hurry ... so much so, they fired their general manager.
There aren't many more people in power you can fire, at this point, which is why it's becoming clearer and clearer that Rodgers is the next man out the door and all of this past couple of years is going to be for absolutely nothing.
Who's the smart person, now, Mr. McAfee?