Darren Mougey is looking a lot like Joe Douglas after Jets' 1-3 start

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has found himself on the hot seat after a loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 4 dropped him to 1-3 in 2026 and 4-17 overall, but general manager Darren Mougey has likely been shielded from blame. The tide may start turning after the latest loss.

Mougey has built up tons of equity with the fanbase after getting six first-round picks in two years thanks to the Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson trades, but he is now staring down the same record that has fans ready to throw Glenn in the tras. Curiously, much like Joe Douglas, he has escaped criticism for the bulk of his tenure.

If anything, Mougey may be following a Douglas-esque path. Jets fans shouldn't be willing to let his ability to do well in trades obscure the fact that he has proven almost incapable of putting a winning product on the field.

New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey is looking a bit like Joe Douglas

Jets fans will laugh at how bad Douglas was as a GM during his first few years, but he won more games than Mougey. John Idzik only lasted two years, and he won more games than Mougey so far. Getting lots of high picks in the Draft is admirable, but that shouldn't give Mougey a long leash while the team wilts away.

Douglas earned some goodwill within the fanbase for his ability to get solid value in trades and the notion that he needed some time to dig himself out of the hole Mike Maccagnan had laid out for him. As such, Douglas nearly made it to the end of six seasons in charge without as much as a single winning season.

Mougey has been screwed by the fact that he hasn't been able to take a swing on a quarterback, signing two stopgaps in Justin Fields and Geno Smith. However, what has Mougey done to show that he is deserving of taking that swing?

Darren Mougey has not built a good New York Jets team

Fans who liked the Gardner and Williams trades are engaging in a particularly thorny bit of cognitive dissonance. Seemingly every move or decision that does work out is a credit to Mougey, while every failure is hung on Glenn.

Just look at his 2026 NFL Draft class. While there are plenty of promising players, his four top-50 picks were shut out. No. 2 pick David Bailey failed to record a sack; Kenyon Sadiq had zero catches one week after tallying 100 yards; Omar Cooper Jr. was hurt, and D'Angelo Ponds (only in because of injuries) had an interception overturned due to a penalty.

Outside of Armand Membou, there are no sure-fire hits from his 2025 class either, despite Azareye'h Thomas' emergence. Has Mougey brought in a Day 3 player who has meaningfully shown the team anything?

Mougey's ability to acquire assets means nothing if, like Douglas, he doesn't spend the assets appropriately. The same fans who spend every waking moment ripping Glenn should save that same energy for Mougey amid his failures.

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