How the Jets can use AI to fix their woeful franchise, according to ChatGPT

The New York Jets infamously once used Madden video game ratings to make personnel decisions. Now, they're publicly embracing AI under Iwao Fusillow, their new chief data and analytics officer. Iwao told Sports Business Journal that the Jets front office is embracing an "AI-first" mindset.

The jokes write themselves, really.

"I can't wait for the story next offseason when we discover the AI was using madden ratings."

"This checks out because if you had to guess which sports team will be the first to make an SGA-for-Paul George type disaster trade primarily because a LLM chatbox told them to, you'd absolutely guess the Jets."

"Grok make me the most dogshit team you've ever seen. Destroy morale. Make no mistakes"

But what if the Jets really did turn to ChatGPT to give them advice on how to run the franchise? To find out, I started with the most basic prompt possible:

How can the Jets fix their franchise by 2027?

Right out the gate, ChatGPT takes a very well-deserved shot at the Jets by getting at the heart of why they need fixing in the first place.

"The path for the New York Jets to become relevant by 2027 is actually pretty straightforward — but it requires discipline, which has historically been the hardest thing for this franchise."

I mean, that statement alone is a bad omen for any Jets fans reading this. Because yeah, the steps are straightforward and still seemingly impossible for New York to do.

1. Stop chasing shortcuts at quarterback

ChatGPT highlights Aaron Rodgers, Zach Wilson and Justin Fields as rushed or emotionally driven quarterback decisions, ones that ultimately point to a fatal flaw: "The Jets’ biggest mistake for 15 years has been trying to skip development cycles."

The solution? ChatGPT suggests using 2026 to stabilize the roster, then drafting a QB they truly believe in. "Not 'best available because we need one.' not another panic trade-up."

The AI gets no arguments from me. Though this is also Exhibit A for why the straightforward approach is also impossible. Because it requires someone in the Jets organization to fall in love with the right quarterback. The good news is they're ready to stop skipping development cycles, now is a great time for it. They have three first-round draft picks in 2027 with an objectively strong quarterback class on the horizon. Whether it's Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Julian Sayin or some other rising name, NY should be in good position to snag a legitimate prospect.

2. Build like Detroit, not like the old Jets

ChatGPT urges the Jets to "commit to [Aaron Glenn's] culture build." The implication there is that they don't fire Glenn before the end of September.

The AI's advice isn't bad. The "Detroit-style rebuild template" makes a ton of sense whether Glenn is your head coach or not.

• draft trenches
• keep picks
• avoid aging stars
• create identity before chasing Super Bowls
• extend young core players
• invest heavily in OL/DL depth
• stop resetting coaching staffs every 2 years

That last piece of advice is funny because the Jets may be forced to reset the coaching staff by the end of 2026 if Glenn proves to be as incompetent a head coach as he seemed in 2025. Arguably the most important element of the next year is New York figuring out where they want to go with their head coach. If there are any doubts about Glenn, they can't let his staff be the one drafting their franchise QB in 2027.

And here we get back to the straightforward but impossible thing. It's one thing to do all those things listed above. It's another to correctly discern if hitting the reset button is necessary and if continuity could be harmful.

3. Garrett Wilson must become the centerpiece

This one is simple: "Garrett Wilson should be treated like Amon-Ra St. Brown in Detroit or CeeDee Lamb in Dallas."

The wide receiver is the main man in New York. The biggest problem is he's spent his entire career catching passes from mediocre quarterbacks like Zach Wilson, Mike White, Trevor Siemian, Tim Boyle, Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook or past-their-prime stars like Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco. While St. Brown and Lamb have had Jared Goff and Dak Prescott targeting them the majority of their careers, Wilson can look forward to passes from Geno Smith in 2026.

Doing right by Wilson means getting the 2027 draft right.

4. Fix the defense through takeaways, not just talent

ChatGPT highlights the ultimate, unbelievable stat from 2025: The Jets had zero interceptions in 17 games. Yeah, yeah, we all know. The issues, per the AI: Scheme, communication, discipline, situational football. Not just talent.

Of course, the Jets have addressed the talent issue to a degree. They drafted nickelback D'Angelo Ponds, traded for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and signed cornerback Nahshon Wright to help the secondary. They drafted David Bailey and signed defensive linemen Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare to bolster the pass rush. They brought in veteran Demario Davis at linebacker, among other moves.

None of those moves alone will fix the defense if the coaching staff doesn't get their act together. At the same time, turnover luck is a thing, and there's a certain amount of improbability to just how few turnovers the Jets managed in 2026. Statistically they should bounce back even without drastic changes.

5. Woody Johnson has to stop interfering

LOL. Yeah, no arguments here. Though all the AI usage in the world might not be able to convince Woody Johnson to stop being Woody Johnson.

How'd ChatGPT do?

Honestly, all the advice the chatbot delivered is good advice. Easy in theory, difficult in execution, sure, but still a solid starting point.

Here's how I'd rank the advice in terms of how likely the Jets are of following it:

1. "Fix the defense through takeaways, not just talent." — Statistically, the takeaways are likely to bounce back.
2. "Garrett Wilson must become the centerpiece." — I'm certain Wilson will be the centerpiece of the offense, but I'm less certain he'll have competent quarterback play to capitalize on.
3. "Stop chasing shortcuts at quarterback." — The path to drafting a quality quarterback is clear, though even the Jets could screw that up. Developing a QB is the harder part.
4. "Build like Detroit, not like the old Jets." — A quality quarterback can fall into your lap in the draft, but building a roster takes top-to-bottom organizational synergy. There are so many things that can go wrong, starting with talent evaluations and putting all those draft picks to good use. At least the Jets appear to be on the right track after this offseason.
5. "Woody Johnson has to stop interfering." — Good luck with that.

We've had our fun, now let's give the Jets some credit

Here's the thing about AI: It's not inherently evil. Like all tools, it can be wielded for good or evil. In the case of the Jets, it seems they're being pretty savvy. For now, it doesn't sound like they're using AI to scout players. They're using it to do things like "structuring data from physician evaluations of players at the draft combine."

Using AI to improve your workflow (i.e. using it to organize or pull data from a spreadsheet) is a pretty standard use case. Hell, I'd be surprised if most front offices weren't doing the same. I personally use AI to generate the formulas I need to automate my spreadsheets. It's a game changer.

AI is only as strong as the person prompting it. And with the right prompts, you can create a lot of value, whether in terms of organization or data analysis.

Honestly, the problem for the Jets is their reputation for silliness. That's how they manage to take a pretty run-of-the-mill practice and immediately trigger an onslaught of memes. No one trusts the people in the Jets organization to do the right prompting. Or not to fall for a hallucination.

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