Jets' Woody Johnson Says He's 'Obviously Not A Good Owner in Terms of Winning'

In the same week that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson was publicly critical of Justin Fields' play on the field, he also held himself accountable for the team's lack of success over the years.

Speaking to The Athletic's Dianna Russini during the NFL's fall meetings, Johnson described himself as "obviously not a good owner in terms of winning" when asked what he thinks makes him good at his role before adding:

"I think the players can relate to me in some ways, even though I don't have their background. I have a certain amount of empathy, I think, that they can feel. I can't be them. I don't have their background. I didn't grow up in their neighborhood. There's no way I can completely understand what they went through and their life. But I think they know that I'm an understanding person. I'm willing to listen to anybody to tell me anything they want to tell me. I'm willing to listen to their ideas, too."

Since Johnson purchased the Jets in early 2000, they have the fourth-worst winning percentage in the NFL with a 173-238 record (.421). The only teams behind them are the Detroit Lions (.399), Las Vegas Raiders (.397) and Cleveland Browns (.344).

The Jets have made the playoffs six times under Johnson's leadership, but their last appearance was during the 2010 season. Their playoff drought of 14 seasons is twice as long as any other active streak in the NFL and is tied for the 12th-longest streak of all-time, per ESPN.com.

In the NFLPA's annual team report card released in February that surveys players on a number of items related to the team they play for, Jets ownership was the only one to receive an "F" grade

NFLPA chief strategy officer J.C. Tretter told reporters at the NFL scouting combine the most frequent criticism from Jets players about the team ownership was the culture being one of "fear" and being a "problem, top down."

Johnson's comments to Russini does suggest he is at least trying to change that perception, but there's still a long way to go for the organization to return to respectability on the field.

The Jets are the NFL's lone winless team this season with an 0-7 record going into Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. They are two losses away from clinching their 10th consecutive losing record.