SPORT NEWS: Joe Douglas fired as Jets GM after rebuilding roster around Aaron Rodgers.giang

Just 18 months after acquiring Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, Joe Douglas is out as general manager of the New York Jets.

The Jets fired Douglas on Tuesday after a 28-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts that dropped their record to 3-8 this season. Phil Savage will serve as the interim general manager.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini noted the Jets decided to move on from Douglas now to immediately start their search for a new general manager.

According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Jets “had been overseen by higher-ups over the past month” despite Douglas still holding the GM title.

“Douglas effectively lost most of his authority after the firing of Robert Saleh, a decision made with minimal input from Douglas by owner Woody Johnson in October,” Schultz wrote.

This marks the third major personnel move the Jets have made in the past six weeks. They fired head coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 after a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich announced that same week Nathaniel Hackett was being demoted from his position as offensive coordinator and Todd Downing would call plays. Hackett remains a member of the staff.

Douglas and the Jets have gone out of their way to put players around Rodgers whom he is comfortable with. They signed Allen Lazard as a free agent in March 2023 before they traded for the four-time MVP.

After Davante Adams requested a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders during the season, the Jets traded a 2025 conditional third-round draft pick to reunite the star receiver and Rodgers.

The Jets also used significant resources this past offseason to try to improve their offensive line. They signed Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses as free agents and used the No. 11 overall pick in the draft on Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.

All of these moves have left the Jets in an all-too-familiar position of being close to the bottom of the AFC East. They technically own the tiebreaker over the New England Patriots based on winning percentage in common games, but for all intents and purposes, they are tied for last place in the division right now.

The Jets are one loss away from clinching their ninth consecutive losing season. They are three games behind the Denver Broncos for the final playoff spot in the AFC. Since Denver had a head-to-head to win earlier this season, the Jets would need to finish with a better record to pass the Broncos in the standings.

Douglas signed a six-year deal to become New York’s general manager in June 2019. The position opened up late in the offseason amid rumors of a power struggle between then-general manager Mike Maccagnan and then-head coach Adam Gase that resulted in Maccagnan being fired.

Since the start of the 2019 season, the Jets’ .319 winning percentage is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the second-worst in the NFL. The Carolina Panthers are the only team that has been worse during that span (.290).

Douglas has won three Super Bowl titles in his career as an executive dating back to 2000. He was a scout for the Baltimore Ravens for 15 seasons from 2000 to ’14 before spending one year as the Chicago Bears’ director of college scouting.

The Philadelphia Eagles hired Douglas as their vice president of player personnel in 2016. He remained with the club for three seasons before being hired by the Jets.