NEW ORLEANS – Quincy Williams looked at his New York Jets teammate Jermaine Johnson on Tuesday on Radio Row in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX and made a statement.
“I’m tired of losing,” the Jets star linebacker said in an interview with Fox News Digital while discussing his partnership with Bounty.
Johnson replied, “Oh man, I’m tired of losing.”
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Since joining the Jets in 2021 after two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Williams has seen 23 Jets wins to 45 losses – a .338 win percentage. Johnson came in as a first-round pick in 2022, and though he only played two games this past year due to a torn Achilles, he has also seen his Jets under .500 in his three seasons with the club.
That wasn’t supposed to be the case in 2023 when the team traded for Aaron Rodgers and had a roster many believed would break their decade-plus-long playoff drought. We all know how that played out after just four snaps into Week 1 that year.
A 5-12 record, which saw head coach Robert Saleh ousted while the team continued to struggle, ultimately led to another new head coaching hire, and it’s someone the organization knows quite well in Aaron Glenn.
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A first-round pick by the organization in 1994, Glenn played cornerback for the Jets for eight of his 15 years in the league before getting into coaching. This will be his first head coaching gig, but Williams and Johnson expressed their excitement for having him in the building to lead them where they want to go.
And that’s winning football games.
“I’m excited to see the culture that he preaches, and also, the foundation that we’re going to build together. Because we have to have a strong foundation before we build anything up,” Williams explained.
When it comes to that foundation, Glenn set the tone by saying, “We’re built for this s—” during his introductory press conference.
Now, Williams and Johnson have heard it before with Saleh, whose motto was “All Gas, No Brakes,” which came from his own intro presser.
But these Jets veterans know that players buying in, especially those senior leaders, are what will drive this team in the right direction moving into 2025.
Johnson provided an anecdote to explain why culture and foundation in the locker room is so important to success. And no, his story doesn’t come from his time in the league, but rather his career at Independence Community College – a powerhouse junior college squad that was on the fourth season of Netflix’s popular show “Last Chance U.”
“My first year [in JUCO], we had a bunch of no-names, me included,” he began. “Ain’t nobody knew me when I’m coming out of Minnesota going to junior college. We basically were the first team in school history, or 50 years, to win a bowl game and win the conference championship. Again, I get it, it’s junior college. But we had a bunch of no-names and nobody knew [us]. We didn’t have a bunch of DI players who came to play junior college – we had a bunch of grinders, right? And we got it done.
“My junior college conference, in all of America, was the most competitive conference to play in. Alvin Kamara came from it, other notable guys came from that conference. Long story short, the next year, we had all these guys bounce back – this guy played at ‘Bama, this guy played at Auburn, this guy played at Florida State. And we’re on Netflix again. Obviously, this is the school to beat. Bro…we went 2-8.
“So, I say that to say you can have the best, most talented roster in the world. You can have all the hype. If your culture and your foundation isn’t right, it doesn’t matter, and it will always be that way on all levels of football.”
Johnson didn’t say it directly, but that story has parallels with the Jets. A four-time MVP quarterback, offensive weapons galore including one that was traded for mid-season with a rapport with said quarterback, a top-three defense in yards allowed the last two season. Yet, the record is what it is despite the talent.
So, yes, Johnson and Williams likely speak for their Jets brothers when they say they’re tired of losing. But they’re optimistic that Glenn and this new regime, which includes new general Darren Mougey, are the right group to take them forward.
“I’m excited to start things new and start things with a great regime that I really feel like we have. And I already know the character of the guys in the locker room, so I know what they can do on the field. I’m excited to attack this season.”
STAYING CLEAN WITH BOUNTY
Another Super Bowl means another Super Bowl party that many will be attending this year. That means there will be some delictable eats, and wings are usually on the menu no matter where you go for the “Big Game.”
That’s what Johnson and Williams were munching on during the interview, and the former even dropped a wing, which spoke to the reason why they both partnered with Bounty. They needed a sturdy paper towel to clean it up.
“You can have all the best food in the world, you can have the best party, but think about how messed up things can get with somebody’s hands all dirty, somebody spilled something. Look, what I’ve learned in life is, you may not be responsible for the mess, or you may be. Nevertheless, you need something to clean it up and do a good job. So, we got Bounty.”
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