Christopher Johnson; Bowles is a Man of Few Words

Christopher Johnson has taken over control of the NY Jets while Woody serves as Ambassador to the U.K. Β Christopher spoke to the media on Tuesday. The full transcript appears below, here are some highlights.
- Woody Johnson is completely out of day-to-day football operations.
- Christopher Johnson says he doesn’t even discuss football with his brother Woody.
- Christopher says he has always been in the background and in important meetings, so that has helped the transition.
- The decision to keep Bowles and Macc or let them go won’t come down to wins and losses.
On how often he is in contact with Woody regarding the teamβ¦
Not at all. Iβm in touch with him constantly, but none of it is about football – other than he said he heard from somebody that I was doing a good job.
On how he has been adjusting to his new roleβ¦
Itβs interesting going from being in the background here, where Iβve been involved fairly deeply since the beginning. Now, Iβve come to the fore. I think the biggest adjustment is actually dealing with the public aspect of the game, but Iβve gotten more involved with everybody in this building β from the business side to the coaches to especially, the players. Itβs been great. Iβve loved every minute of it.
On the dynamic with him and Woody regarding an important football decisionβ¦
Over the years, he always bounced things off of me and it would be great if I could do that with him, but he really has a full time job over there. We are not discussing football. Heβs out of it.
On why Woody will not be involvedβ¦
He said Iβm stepping away from football. That (ambassador) is his full time job. Itβs a huge job.
On the fanβs perception of the organization and what he believes is fair and unfair about that perceptionβ¦
One of my roles here is to get into the fan base a little bit more. Thatβs definitely one of my priorities this year, starting now, especially with this first home game. I canβt say what that perception is exactly. I hope it is that this is a team on the rise. There are some growing pains right now, no question, but we have a plan and Iβm going to do everything I can to support the people in this building β in particular, Neil (Glat) and Mike (Maccagnan) and Todd (Bowles). Iβve been a fan since I was a little kid. I bleed green like they do. Iβm hoping that they appreciate what weβre doing to get back to greatness.
On if it will be entirely his decision to evaluate Bowles and Maccagnanβ¦
Woody isnβt involved in that at all.
On his role with the organization for the past 16 yearsβ¦
Iβve been very much in the background, but Iβve been part of almost all of the major decisions. Iβve been in the room for pretty much all of the big changes and, even when I wasnβt, Woody was calling me up to ask me what I thought of things. To tell you the truth, that has made this transition a little bit easier because itβs not like Iβm a neophyte in this building. There is still a lot for me to learn. Iβm still working through my own progression here, but I think things are going pretty well.
On how often he speaks with Maccagnan and Bowlesβ¦
I speak with Mike almost daily. I speak with Todd a little bit less often. Heβs a man of few words, you might have noticed that, (joking) so we get a lot said in a few conversations a week.
On the challenge of evaluating a head coach with a young rosterβ¦
My brother said early in the spring to not judge the team on wins and losses, but itβs progression and I agree with that. I think itβs going to be obvious to all if this team is progressing. There are so many young guys who, just because they arenβt bold-faced names, doesnβt mean they arenβt really talented. I think that we have a group of coaches, including Todd, who are really good at building those players up and teaching the roles these young players have to fill. I think youβre going to see a lot of progression, but itβs going to be obvious. You guys will probably let me know, but I think it will be obvious to all.
On the narrative that the 2017 Jets are tanking to get a quarterback in 2018β¦
It couldnβt be further from the truth. I want to win every game. Every player in that locker room wants to win and what youβre seeing I think are growing pains. These are young guys. There are some older guys on the team. Some of them, theyβre doing an extraordinary job, but I think youβre going to see this team get better and better and better. Thatβs what I am looking for and we are definitely not tanking.
On Maccagnan and Bowlesβ¦
Letβs start with Mike. I think heβs proven over the years before he got here, that he is an extraordinary talent evaluator and Iβve seen nothing to dissuade me from that here. I think heβs very thoughtful, heβs very methodical and Iβm really impressed with his drafts and his outlook. With Todd, much the same. Iβve been around a lot of coaches at this point. He has a connection with the players that maybe does not show up with you guys, but Iβm in the locker room, Iβm at the practices, I see him working with these young men and I think he strikes the right balance of really everything. Iβm really impressed with him.
On Maccagnan picking a quarterback in the second round last year who is now third on the depth chartβ¦
First of all, the quarterback position is really difficult to evaluate and we havenβt really seen where Christian (Hackenberg) might go. Iβm really more about looking forward than looking back. Everybody is going to look back and find places where things have gone wrong. I donβt think that you can say that about Christian. I think that he has a lot of upside and I hope to see it.
On whether there is any concern about fan apathyβ¦
I hope that the fans will buy into our plan and Iβm looking forward to seeing growth. Iβm extraordinarily excited about seeing the development of our young players, especially. I think that theyβre going to see this team grow before their eyes. I think that thatβs exciting. I canβt say whether theyβre going to stay home, but I hope they donβt. I think itβs going to be an exciting season. I canβt wait for this first home game.
On his thoughts about the Jets run defense thus farβ¦
A lot of mistakes. A lot of mistakes were made, but mistakes you can fix. Thatβs one thing Iβm really looking forward to seeing fixed.
On if he can guarantee that some players will fix their mistakesβ¦
Unlike (Joe) Namath, Iβm not in the guaranteeing business, but I think you can count on things getting better there.
On the current direction of the Jets and if it will require patience from himβ¦
Iβm not a patient man. Iβm like any fan β Iβve been a fan of this team all my life. Yes, you can look long term, but I want to see this team progressing every game. Iβm not happy with losses, Iβm not happy with mistakes, but Iβm excited about the progression.
On his biggest challenge in his current role with the Jetsβ¦
What I really want to see happen is for us to go to the Super Bowl. I promised my brother Iβd leave him two tickets at will call (laughter), because every little brother wants to show up his bigger brother. The biggest challenge is to earn the trust of the fans, to have them know that I care about this team deeply and Iβm going to do everything I can to make it a great team again.
On whether the general manager and head coach will continue to report directly to himβ¦
Nothing has changed from my brotherβs approach to mine.
On why the team waited until Maccagnan and Bowlesβ third year to re-tool and get youngerβ¦
Thatβs a good question. Itβs hard to look back. Sometimes you can look back and things look really clear, but a couple of years ago we had a pretty good run there. It seemed like we had unlocked some of the keys to moving forward. What our plan is now, I think is a good one, and I think itβs the way to bring us forward. I just canβt look back and criticize that too heavily.
On when he believes the Jets should be a playoff teamβ¦
I have no date in mind. I canβt speculate on that.
On the Jets loss versus the Raidersβ¦
It was lopsided in the end, but I think that there were some great things in that game. Like I said, I look for progression in all aspects of play on the field, and I think that our offense β you guys might not have been impressed β but I thought that some great things happened in our offensive play. There were a handful of things that were great on defense β Jamal Adamsβ tackle of (Marshawn) Lynch, that goal line tackle was one of the great plays I can ever recall. I want to see more of that. I want to see a lot more of that, but I hate losses as much as anybody else does.
On if he will judge Bowles on wins and losses this seasonβ¦
No. Believe me, like any fan I like wins a lot more than losses, but thatβs only part of the equation. The real way to judge this team and the people on it, me included, are we getting better?
On if he could foresee a situation where the team loses a lot of games and Bowles retains his jobβ¦
Itβs not going to come down to games. It really wonβt. Itβs more about the play on the field. Are we getting better? Believe me, losses hurt deeply. I like wins a lot more, but itβs not going to be the sole or even a really important way for me to judge Todd or Mike.
On if he will evaluate Bowles and Maccagnan similar to how the Jets will evaluate players at the end of the seasonβ¦
Iβll evaluate everyone, including myself, but itβs not going to depend on wins and losses in my mind.
On if players need to be replaced when they are not performing well or if they should stay on the field and grow on the job if they are younger playersβ¦
Thatβs going to be up to the Coach. Thatβs really going to be up to the Coach and Mike. Iβm not yet Jerry Jones (laughter).
On why Woody accepted the ambassadorship to the U.K. and stepped away from the Jetsβ¦
I think you know that my brother has tried to serve his community over the years. Thatβs been a big part of his life is raising money for medical research and working on his community. This is his chance to serve the country, which he cares for very deeply, and he has an extraordinary job. Iβm really, immensely proud of my brother. The U.K. is our most important ally, and this is probably the most interesting time in the U.K. β U.S. relationship since World War II, so itβs an immense job. I couldnβt be more proud of him and it doesnβt surprise me in the least that he would say to me itβs your team, donβt mess it up.
On if that is what Woody said to himβ¦
Yes, he did (laughter).
On if has any indication of how long he will serve as Chairman and CEOβ¦
When (Woody) comes back, heβll take over again, and Iβm not entirely sure about how long that is. So Iβm going to make the most of it while Iβm here.
On NFL owners he has spoken to for adviceβ¦
Iβve been talking with owners and soliciting their advice for the last several months, but I donβt think Iβll go into exactly who.