FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets' disappointing season has taken another weird turn, this time involving an off-the-cuff comment by CEO Christopher Johnson that made for embarrassing headlines.
Before Sunday's loss in Jacksonville, Johnson spoke to a small group of Jets fans in the crowd. One of them said he had driven nine hours to the game.
"Hopefully, the team will actually show up this week," replied Johnson, who was caught on video, which was later shared by a fan on social media.
Johnson probably was alluding to the Jets' 33-0 loss to the New England Patriots only six days earlier, but the comment gained traction because his team is only 1-6 and first-year coach Adam Gase already is under fire.
General manager Joe Douglas, speaking to reporters Tuesday after the trade deadline, said he became aware of the video clip earlier Tuesday.
"My take was he seemed like he was a person like a lot of people in this building -- passionate and frustrated about where we are at 1-6," Douglas said. "I can tell you my feelings on Christopher haven't changed one bit.
"Frankly, he deserves better than 1-6, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure we're not in this position again in the future."
Johnson's team showed up against the Jaguars, closing to within a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but wound up losing 29-15.
Johnson, who became the acting owner in 2017 when his older brother Woody Johnson accepted a post as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, hasn't spoken to the media since June. He introduced general manager Joe Douglas at a news conference, but he didn't take questions.
Johnson was heavily criticized in May, when he fired GM Mike Maccagnan after allowing him to run the draft and spend more than $100 million in guaranteed free-agency dollars.
Since Johnson took charge of the organization, the Jets are 10-29.