Last October, the New York Liberty were crowned WNBA champions for the first time and also broke the streak of major professional teams in the Big Apple that had not won a title since 2012 when the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in the Super Bowl.
The other NFL team, the New York Jets, has only won one title and that was in 1969, in the third edition of the Super Bowl and when man had not yet reached the Moon.
In Major League Baseball, the powerful Yankees have not won the World Series since 2009 and the Mets see that October of 1986 when they miraculously crowned themselves against the Boston Red Sox as a distant memory.
In the NBA, the Knicks were last champions in 1973 and the Nets (in Brooklyn since 2012) won the title of the now-defunct ABA in 1976.
In NHL ice hockey, the struggles are similar: the Rangers haven't won since 1994 and the Islanders since 1983.
For the 2024 season, the Jets had high expectations of breaking their losing streak and making it to the Super Bowl. They had in their favor a young roster, a lot of talent on defense, and welcomed back veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who had suffered a serious injury the previous season. Additionally, during the season they signed Davante Adams, one of the top receivers in the league.
However, the 2024 campaign has been a resounding failure, with a record of 3-8, far from any chance of making the playoffs and with many doubts for the future after the 28-27 loss to the Colts.
New layoffs at the Jets raise many questions
As a result of a downward season, the Jets fired general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday, who was in the final year of his contract after arriving in New York in 2019.
Before, on October 8th, head coach Robert Saleh was fired just five games into the regular season.
"I informed Joe Douglas today that he will no longer serve as the general manager of the New York Jets," said owner Woody Johnson in a statement released by the team.
Johnson also announced that Phil Savage, who has been the senior football advisor since 2019, will be the interim general manager of the Jets for the remainder of the season.
Douglas was not consulted by Johnson when the owner made the decision to fire Saleh and replace him on an interim basis with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
Douglas' dismissal calls into question Aaron Rodgers' continuity for next season: he is about to turn 41 and has been far from his optimal level.
In addition to this, the team owner is very close to Donald Trump and is likely to be appointed to a position in the new administration, just as he did in 2017 when he was the ambassador to the United Kingdom, so it is very likely that he will have to step away from his duties as the owner of the Jets once again and delegate key decisions to his brother.
The Giants bench quarterback Daniel Jones.
The other New York team in the NFL, the Giants, will also not make the playoffs and for that reason on Monday they made the decision to bench quarterback Daniel Jones and name fan-favorite Tommy DeVito as the starter until the end of the season.
The Giants have a record of 2-8 and are among the worst teams of the 2024 season.
The decision to demote Jones means that the team has lost faith in a player who was given a $160 million contract two years ago that is valid until the 2026 season.
Jones, 27 years old and in his sixth professional season, has 10 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions in 2024, including two in the red zone in the 20-17 loss in Munich. He has a record of 3-13 in his last 16 games as a starter and New York ranks last in the league in scoring, with an average of 15.6 points per game.
What will happen to Jones in 2025? The Giants will likely look to transfer him, although they will still have to cover a good portion of his salary.
What happened to Trey Lance?
In the 2021 Draft, the San Francisco 49ers surprised many by moving up in the order to select Trey Lance with the third overall pick, a quarterback from North Dakota State University, a second division college football program.
But things didn't go well for Lance in the Bay. He started only four games due to injuries and ended up losing the starting position to Brock Purdy. That's why, in 2023, the 49ers decided to transfer him to the Cowboys.
In Dallas things have not been better: he did not play at all last season and in 2024 he was confirmed as the team's third quarterback, behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush.
The most striking thing is that after Prescott's injury, the Cowboys chose Rush as the starter instead of giving Lance more options, especially after completing their fifth consecutive loss against the Texans this Monday.
Although coach Mike McCarthy said he expects to give Lance more opportunities in the upcoming games, it’s hard to ignore the lack of confidence in a quarterback who was the third overall pick in the 2021 Draft and who was a starter for the 49ers just two seasons ago.