The mission is a daunting one, and many who have adopted or studied this franchise through the decades will undoubtedly consider it impossible.
Same Old Jets has been a haunting, derisive albatross around the strangulated necks of the New York Jets for far too long, and not even Bill Parcells could break free of it, hard as he tried.
Every critical move the Jets made during their offseason of upheaval — hiring head coach Adam Gase, signing Le’Veon Bell, hiring general manager Joe Douglas — was made with a vision in mind that one day will bury Same Old Jets and plant SAM Old Jets in the football world’s consciousness.
That race officially began on Wednesday, when Sam Darnold, the prince who would be king, followed Gase and Steve McLendon into the press room inside the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.
There is nothing more exhilarating to a franchise and its fan base than the belief, and even more so the conviction, that they have The Guy, the treasured franchise quarterback, who can change everything for them.
“The whole building, you can kinda sense almost a rebirth,” Darnold said. “I feel like there’s good vibes in the building, and as long as you have that good energy, we can win with that.”
SAM old Jets, one small step today, one giant leap tomorrow.
“You definitely have expectations of making it to the playoffs, and we definitely have the talent to do it,” Darnold said, “but I think the way that you get there is focusing one week, really one day at a time.”
The way you can do it is when your young franchise quarterback grows up and takes a second-year leap.
“For me, and I think with a lot of the guys that do make that leap in their second year, comes with experience,” Darnold said. “I think playing a lot of games last year and kind of getting the NFL experience I guess you could say, it’s helpful, man.”
Exactly why the Giants need to get Daniel Jones on the field at some point this season.
“The more reps you get in a game, the more comfortable you become,” Darnold said. “I think you kinda saw that later in the year with my play, the last few games I felt so much more comfortable out there. The more games that I play, the more comfortable I’ll feel.”
The two most important relationships on a football team are head coach and GM, and playcaller and quarterback. It is no small development that Darnold and Gase have bonded.
“He’s coached so many different personalities, so many different players,” Darnold said, “and I feel like he already has a good feel of what I’m like on the field, how I play, how I am off of it as well.”
One mind in two bodies is always the goal.
“His personality, I feel like, matches to mine pretty well,” Darnold said.
“We’re both normal people. It’s good to be able to have conversations with him that don’t include football. But I think when you’re able to have conversations like that about personal life, family, friends all that kinda stuff, it makes having football conversations a lot easier and a lot smoother.”
Working with Darnold exhilarates Gase.
“He puts his head down, he grinds, he does extra, he asks the right questions … when he’s on the field, there is no change of speed,” Gase said. “It’s whatever he’s got, he’s giving it. And when you’re around a guy like that, it’s exciting to work with him every day, see what he’s got for ya the next day, what’s he gonna bring?”
Leadership, for one thing. “Guys respect him, and when he speaks, they listen,” Gase said. “He has a good way about how he interacts with his teammates and how he leads.”
Mark Sanchez was Wonder Boy in the beginning before regressing into Blunder Boy. Geno Smith had his jaw and career shattered in his own lockerroom by Ik Enemkpali. Same Old Jets then. “I think the sky’s the limit for us,” Darnold said. SAM Old Jets airborne.
