Joe Douglas on Adam Gase bond, military dad, Jets’ Super Bowl quest
New Jets general manager Joe Douglas discusses the types of players he seeks, the importance of culture and his philosophy on team-building in a Q&A chat with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: Who are GMs in any sport who you admire?
A: Growing up in Richmond, and growing up at the time of the Fun Bunch and the Hogs — it was Redskins where I grew up — I always admired how Bobby Beathard was aggressive in acquiring players, and how him and [coach] Joe Gibbs worked together. I always thought it was pretty unique how Joe Gibbs was out front, but Bobby Beathard was able to be more behind the scenes and build the team. As far as currently, I think Golden State’s GM [Bob] Myers, he does such a great job. [Tuesday] morning I woke up and I saw his press conference about Kevin Durant. I’ve listened to some of his [Adrian Wojnarowski podcasts] and things like that, so I know how smart he is and how diligent a worker he is. It struck me how much he cared for Kevin, and how he was so emotional, and how invested he was in the well-being of one of his players. That was raw emotion and that was authentic and that was 100 percent genuine.
Q: Who are coaches you’ve admired?
A: I always admired Phil Jackson — so smart, so competitive. So many unique personalities — Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr … and then Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Obviously Joe Gibbs, able to win three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks. Those are things that kind of stand out with those guys, to win multiple championships with different sets of people. That always impressed me.
Q: Who are players in other sports you admired?
A: I was an Atlanta Braves fan, so I always loved the Golden Bat, Dale Murphy. I loved the way Bobby Cox ran the team. I was able to see all those players come up through Richmond — the Triple-A team was the Richmond Braves — so I was able to see Dave Justice, Ron Gant, Mark Lemke, all those great Braves players of the ’90s come up, Deion Sanders on assignment, so that was really cool. … Michael Jordan, the most competitive player of all time. Just to name a few.
Q: Who are leaders you admire?
A: Colin Powell. I had the rules that he lives by. I always read those. … John Wooden … Winston Churchill … men that have faced great adversity and they were able to overcome it.
Q: Have you read Wooden’s “The Pyramid of Success”?
A: I have “The Pyramid of Success” in my office, yeah. I watched that HBO documentary about Wooden, and the one thing that stood out to me was how he would start every year by teaching his players how to put on socks. How ’bout that? Like something so simple, he would teach you exactly how to do that.
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Q: What are your favorite inspirational or motivational quotes?
A: I really have ’em from players that I’ve been with. One of the quotes that I have from Ray Lewis was we were going through a tough practice and maybe some guys were feeling sorry for themselves and he rallied the team, he got the team in front of him and he basically just said, “Hey, I can’t want it for you. You have to want it. I can’t want it for you.” And that always resonated with me, just in life, you know? I may want a player to do great, but unless the player wants it for himself, there’s nothing you can do.
Q: What is your definition of toughness?
A: I think when people think of tough they think of, “I’m a big imposing, I’m gonna push people around” type toughness. … Guys that wake up every day, the blue-collar mentality, they show up every day and they work unbelievably hard, they’re able to withstand adversity in their life, they’re able to pick themselves up after they get knocked down, they’re able to recover when they hit rock bottom … that’s what I think of when I think of toughness. More mental and psychological than physical.
Q: What is the on-field mentality you would like in a Joe Douglas football player?
A: I’ll say this: I’m hoping this is not a Joe Douglas player, I’m hoping this is a Jets player, and we’re all in agreement on this — resilient, loves football, has a burning passion for football, coachable, able to handle criticism, able to come back from defeat, very smart, can think under fire, able to stay poised under fire. Those are some of the things I admire in football players.
Q: How would you describe your football philosophy?
A: I think you need the right mix of people. I think you have to have a chemistry and a bond amongst the team. I think the locker room is the most important room in any building in sports. And I think you have to have selfless teammates, guys that are willing to do the dirty work to make their teammate look better. There has to be a give-or-take and there has to be leadership.
Q: What motivated you as a kid growing up?
A: Fear of failure. You hate to lose more than you love to win, and so, you do whatever it takes to not taste that sting of failure — whether it’s preparation, whether it’s work ethic … whatever extra you had to do, that’s what always motivated me.
Q: Does this motivate you even now?
A: Absolutely.
Q: What are you most proud of about what you’ve achieved so far and why you’ve been able to achieve it?
A: I don’t really like to toot my own horn, so that’s a tough one. I feel like it’s an accomplishment if people that I’ve worked with, players that I’ve worked with, just held me in high regard, respected me and respected my work ethic … respected how I treated them. I hope when it’s all said and done, my peers could say, “That was a guy that was able to win, and that was a guy that was able to do it the right way, treat people the right way across the board, and never sacrificed his morals.”
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Q: What is the key to building a team within a team?
A: It’s chemistry. It’s communication. It’s transparency. It’s not being afraid of having tough conversations for the sake of bettering the team. And selflessness. I just remember Coach [John] Harbaugh always saying this, and he got it from Bo Schembechler: “The three most important things are The Team, The Team, The Team.” And so I think when you have a group of men that have that mentality, and they’re able to put the team above themselves, I think you can do amazing things.
Q: Your first football assignment was picking up players in a van.
A: When you’re a scouting assistant, you’re tasked with doing a lot of jobs, and many times you’re forced to pick up coaches, take coaches to the airport, pick up players at the airport, so whenever there was a player visit — and I was a young guy, for three years I picked up players at the airport — you’re taking them from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the doctor, from the doctor to the team, you’re walking him around the building. And so, at the end of that visit, you’ve got a pretty good feel for what that player is and the way he treats you, ’cause he knows that you’re not high up in the organization. So you get a good sense for what a person is all about. And so [former Ravens executives] Ozzie [Newsome] and Phil [Savage], whenever you dropped a player off at the airport and come back [would ask], “What was his van grade? Tell me about that guy.”
Q: Are you a good judge of character?
A: I like to think I am. I don’t think I’m perfect, but I like to think that I’m able to get a good feel and read on people when I meet ’em.
Q: What are your thoughts on defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
A: I had a chance to spend some time with him on Sunday. I really respected the job that he did in a tough situation last year in Cleveland. Just seeing his aggressive style of defense over the years, I’m looking forward to getting with him, talking ball with him, learning what he likes on the defensive side, and just getting to know him.
Q: What impressed you about Sam Darnold when you sat down across from him?
A: I love his energy. I think he had an infectious energy, and I think he’s got a real love of this game, and I think he has an intense desire to get better every day. He just comes across as a genuine young man that wants to get better and wants to be coached. And I think he’s got the right people around here to do that.
Q: What specifically about coach Adam Gase should excite Jets fans?
A: Adam’s aggressive nature … direct communication … sharp wit. He’s a genuine guy. I think once Jets fans are around him more, see his nature, he’s an authentic guy that all he wants to do is win games, win championships.
Q: Are you two opposites personality-wise?
A: I’ve heard that said a couple of times. I don’t think we are. Adam’s outgoing, he loves to talk a little crap sometimes (smile), but I do, too. I just kind of do it in a different way. Maybe a little sideway.
Q: Who was your boyhood idol?
A: Probably my father. He was drafted into the Army right out of high school. Was scared he was gonna be sent to a war he didn’t really particularly want to fight in. Took an aptitude test, scored high, and they offered him the chance to go to schools instead of going over to the war. So he did officer candidate school, then he did Jump school, then he did Ranger school, then he did Special Forces school, and to him, it was just like, “OK, eventually this war’s gonna end.” But anyway, after Special Forces school, he was sent to Vietnam where he ran five-man recon teams in North Vietnam as a lieutenant. And so, he’s my hero.
Q: Did he tell you any frightening stories?
A: So, as a kid, I would always ask, “Dad, tell me some war stories.” But he would never do that. He would just say, “Well let me tell you some training stories, let me tell you about the time my drill instructor tried to make me quit for a week.” He would tell me all about the training, he would never tell me about the actual war. It wasn’t until maybe in my late 30s where he actually started telling me some of the more harrowing stories … being hunted by bengal tigers in the jungle on his first mission … extracting soldiers … just really harrowing stories. I had already put him on a pedestal as a young man, but just hearing those stories made me have even more newfound respect.
Q: What is the Tomato Bowl?
A: (Smile) Tomato Bowl is the annual football game between Patrick Henry High School and Lee Davis High School for bragging rights in Hanover County, Va.
Q: Why the Tomato Bowl?
A: Because Hanover County, Va., is known for their quality of tomatoes.
Q: What did you do on the farm growing up?
A: Probably from 6 to noon, 1 o’clock, we picked tomatoes, just rows and rows (chuckle) of tomatoes … pick tomato, put it in the bucket, pass the bucket. And then we took a little break, and then from probably about 2:30, 3 o’clock until really the sun went down, it was different vegetables — cantaloupes, cucumbers, peppers, watermelons. And then, fortunately my high school coach [Brian Sweaney] convinced my dad to let me stop working in the farm and pursue athletics.
Q: What was your evaluation of your part in “The Replacements”?
A: Poor acting (smile)! Took me too long to get in character for my laugh after I helped flip a car. Just coulda done a lot better there. But no, that was fun. I enjoyed every second of that, that was such a unique opportunity.
Q: Favorite New York City things?
A: Our family loves going to Rockefeller Plaza for the holidays. Obviously, Empire State Building. One of the coolest things we ever did was take the kids to FAO Schwarz back in the day. We did the piano keys like “Big” … like Tom Hanks, so that was fun.
Q: Describe your son Tommy.
A: My son absolutely loves sports and he loves competing. He loves being with his teammates. He had his first year of football this past fall, and he’s been playing baseball and basketball his entire life. He’s a great competitor.
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Q: Why was he wearing a green 19 jersey with Douglas on the back at your introductory press conference?
A: I guess he’s a Keyshawn [Johnson] fan, I’m not sure (smile).
Q: Describe your daughters.
A: Addison’s probably the most like me personality-wise. She’s very observant … doesn’t say much at first, but she really just kind of sits back, likes to analyze the situation, get a read on people and then let her personality show once she gets comfortable. Leighton, my youngest daughter, she is just a ball of personality. She walks into a room, she’s never met a stranger (smile).
Q: What would you want to say about your wife Shannon?
A: She makes everything go. Wouldn’t be here without her and her belief in me. I’ll tell you what, what wives in the football business go through, it’s a miracle that she’s put up with me for this long. I’m very thankful to have her in my life.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Alexander the Great, Michael Jordan, George Washington.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Star Wars.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: [Robert] De Niro.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Charlize Theron.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: Garth Brooks.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Chicken parm.
Q: Do you know Joe Namath?
A: I’ve never met Joe Namath.
Q: There’s room for two Joes in this town?
A: (Laugh) I certainly hope so. Joe Namath’s a legend. I hope I get the chance to meet him and spend some time with him.
Q: The Jets haven’t won a Super Bowl in going on 51 years. What would you say to Jets fans about your determination to change that fact?
A: I promise I’m gonna give it a tireless effort to try to rectify that situation, and we’re gonna try to build a culture that changes that. It doesn’t happen overnight, but we’re just gonna try to put this thing together brick by brick.
