Perhaps it’s a year too late, but the New York Jets have finally fired head coach Robert Saleh.
While the writing had been on the wall for weeks, Gang Green’s embarrassing 23-17 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings in London proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the struggling Saleh.
Saleh, who was appointed as the Jets head coach in 2021, exits after just over three seasons at the helm. He finishes his tenure with a 20-36 overall record.
The decision comes during a challenging stretch for the team, which has lost two consecutive games, bringing their record to a disappointing 2-3 on the season.
Prior to the loss to Minnesota, the Jets suffered an inexplicable home defeat to the Denver Broncos.
There have long been public displays of dysfunction between Saleh and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Following the bizarre “hug-snub” incident, Saleh would go on to say that Rodgers needs to tone down his hard counts because they’re too advanced for the team to follow.
Rodgers was clearly frustrated over Saleh’s comments and claimed that the head coach should hold players accountable rather than lower their standards.
The vast majority of Jets fans have grown sick and tired of Saleh and his sleepy demeanor and body language.
Due to his fiery defensive coordinator days in San Francisco, Jets fans thought they were getting a passionate coach who was going to wear his heart on his sleeve and be a true motivator for the team.
We quickly found out that was not going to be the case in New York.
Saleh did very little on gamedays other than fold his arms and chew gum. (Seriously, have you ever seen a football coach at any level do less talking on his headset???)
New York fans want fire and passion out of their players and coaches.
Even legendary Yankees manager Joe Torre caught heat for his lifeless demeanor in the dugout. However, he always got a pass by fans because he won.
In other words, if you’re going to look like you’re sleepwalking on gameday, you better win. Unfortunately for Saleh, he was 0-2 in that respect.
There is also the fact that Saleh has proven to be way too much of a player’s coach. He seems to care more about being buddy-buddy with the players rather than actually coaching them.
Saleh’s attitude over the bizarre Haason Reddick holdout is just another example of his mindset. “We’re going to love him up when he gets here,” he’s repeatedly said.
Well, at least he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.
With Saleh’s departure, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will take over as interim head coach.
While most likely not the long-term answer at head coach, Ulbrich is beloved among players and commands instant respect.
Owner Woody Johnson released a statement explaining the decision to finally let go of Saleh and replace him with Ulbrich.
Currently, the Jets rank 25th in the NFL, averaging only 18.6 points per game.
Their total of 93 points through five games this season matches the output from the same period in 2023, when Zach Wilson was under center.
Needless to say, Rodgers and the offense deserves a share of the blame for the poor start to the season. Firing Saleh this early indicates that Johnson and the front office believes the season can be saved. (Which it certainly can.)
Looking ahead, there will surely be plenty of talk of Bill Belichick taking over as permanent head coach.
While Belichick has always made his love for Rodgers extremely clear, people can’t forget that he absolutely despises Jets ownership and the entire organization.
Could fences be mended? Possibly … But knowing how stubborn Belichick is, it would have to be seen as unlikely.
The much more realistic option would be the ultra-underrated Mike Vrabel.
What are your thoughts on the Jets decision to finally fire Saleh?
Will Rodgers and company be able to turn the season around and become the Super Bowl contenders which many pegged them to be?
In the bigger picture, who should the Jets hire as their next head coach???
