As if finding a new head coach, preparing for the draft and figuring out whether the star quarterback will be part of their future aren't big enough issues, the New York Jets have a new problem to deal with as they begin 2009.
Brett Favre is not a popular guy with his teammates, some of whom think the legendary quarterback needed to be held accountable for crucial mistakes down the stretch as the team missed a playoff berth.
Appearing on a local radio show Tuesday, Jets running back Thomas Jones said Favre should have been benched during his three-interception performance against the Dolphins on Sunday, according to The Daily News.
"We're a team and we win together ... but at the same time, you can't turn the ball over and expect to win," Jones said in the interview. "The other day, the three interceptions really hurt us. I mean, that's just reality. If I were to sit here and say, 'Oh, man, it's OK,' that's not reality.
"The reality is, you throw interceptions, I'm (ticked) off, I don't like it. You know what I'm saying? I don't like it, I know everybody else on the team doesn't like it."
The veteran running back, coming off a 1,300-yard season with 13 touchdowns on the ground, went so far as to say coach Eric Mangini should have benched Favre, a training-camp addition to the roster after retiring from the Green Bay Packers and then changing his mind
"If somebody is not playing well, they need to come out of the game," Jones said in the WQHT-FM interview. "You're jeopardizing the whole team because you're having a bad day. To me, that's not fair to everybody else. You're not the only one on the team."
Playing with a sore shoulder, Favre, 39, threw nine interceptions during the Jets' 1-4 December swoon, finishing with a league-high 22 and adding to his reputation as a gunslinger perhaps too confident in his own abilities.
Another player said Favre was an awkward fit from almost the moment the Jets traded for him on Aug. 6 and released Chad Pennington. Favre reportedly spent considerable time during the season in a private office near the equipment room rather than in the locker room.
"There was a lot of resentment in the room about him," the anonymous teammate told Newsday. "He never socialized with us, never went to dinner with anyone."
Owner Woody Johnson has indicated he wants to see Favre back in 2009, but Jones' outburst is an indication that the quarterback has work to do on and off the field with his teammates if he plans to return next season.
On Monday, fourth-year safety Kerry Rhodes told the paper: "If he's dedicated and he wants to come back and do this, and do it the right way ... and be here when we're here in training camp and the minicamps and working out with us ... then I'm fine with it. But don't come back if it's going to be halfhearted or he doesn't want to put the time in with us."
And the issue may extend beyond the locker room as the Jets look for Mangini's replacement.
"I want (Favre) out of the building before I get there," one general manager told The Daily News in analyzing the thought process of prospective coaches. "He's finished. You can read Mangini's body language: 'We can't control him. He will not follow. He's undisciplined. Belligerent.'
"Why would any reasonable man even want him around if you are trying to get a fresh start?"