On Monday, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson held his season-ending press conference.
In addition to taking questions on his decision to fire general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan, Johnson also reflected on one decision he wished he had made during last offseason – offering a contract to Darrelle Revis:
“Darrelle is a great player,” Johnson said. “If I thought I could have gotten Darrelle, for that (contract), I probably would have taken him.”
Perhaps sensing a fine in the making, a PR person for the Jets warned the media that the team couldn’t speak about players on other teams, seeing as how Revis is currently playing for the New England Patriots. Johnson apparently wasn’t paying attention as he followed up his thoughts of what he wished he had done last offseason with his thoughts on what he’d like to do in the future:
“It was our best judgment to do what we did. But Darrelle’s a great player,” he said. “I’d love Darrelle to come back.”
Oops.
The NFL’s anti-tampering stance is pretty clear and the statement that Johnson would “love Darrelle to come back” likely falls under it.
Re: Johnson's Revis comments, here is a section from the NFL's anti-tampering policy for those who had questions pic.twitter.com/dVUuncwKtl
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) December 29, 2014
Even though the season just ended, the Jets seemingly can’t help but shoot themselves in the foot.