In the least surprising development of the decade, NFL Network is performing a cleanup on aisle five in order to appease one of the 32 people who own the operation.
Earlier this week, Colleen Wolfe said on the Around the NFL podcast that a “very reliable source” told her that, on Sunday night in Orlando, a “very heated conversation” occurred between Jets owner Woody Johnson and Jets coach Robert Saleh. The Jets were unhappy with the report. Earlier today, Johnson took to X and called it “irresponsible.”
Wolfe has now apologized, in part.
“Regarding my comments surrounding the Jets on the @AroundTheNFL podcast: no, I was not at the Annual Meeting and yes, I was told of the exchange between head coach Robert Saleh & Woody Johnson by someone in attendance,” she said. “Others on-site Sunday night have since reached out and described the interaction differently. My intent wasn’t to break news, I leave that to the insiders. My sincerest apologies to the Jets organization for the unnecessary distraction during such a crucial part of their offseason.”
While she apologized for creating an “unnecessary distraction” to the team, she has not retracted the unintended report. She says she was told about the exchange by someone in attendance, an unnamed source she originally said was “very reliable.” She says others (possibly, people who work for the Jets and thus have a clear bias in painting things a certain way) have “described the interaction differently.” Absent a repudiation of the source, this one now falls into the “reasonable minds may differ” category, at best.
Here’s where reasonable minds won’t differ. The Jets were and are pissed about this. They don’t need to have a vague sense of real conflict and tension between the owner and the head coach as the 2024 season approaches. They’re doing what they have to do to undo the damage.
Technically, Wolfe’s apology doesn’t really do that. It introduces a different point of view. It doesn’t retract what she originally said. Her source told her it was “very heated” and got “a little awkward.” Until she says the source was wrong and/or the source comes out and says it himself or herself, we have two different perspectives on the same situation.