The New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, The Jets told Saleh around 10 a.m. ET. Team owner Woody Johnson released a statement shortly afterward regarding Saleh’s firing and announced that defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich would serve as interim head coach. The Jets are 2-3 this season, but have never had a winning season while Saleh was head coach.
Saleh arrived with much fanfare when he was hired to replace Adam Gase in 2021. He excelled as the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator for four seasons, becoming a top head coaching candidate over time. He was a blank slate when he was hired. The team didn’t have a quarterback, but they did have the No. 2 overall pick in the next draft.
The Jets then drafted Zach Wilson with the second pick, but it ended up being a huge failure for the team. It’s hard to know how much of that choice was Saleh’s, but he stuck with it nonetheless.
Robert Saleh is stepping down as head coach of the New York Jets. (Photo by Mike Stove/Getty Images)
Things seemed to be looking up for Saleh when the Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers before the 2023 season. Mr. Rogers, then 39, still had some left in the tank and wanted to use it in New York.
We all know what happened then. Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon four plays into the first game of the season, so Saleh had to use Wilson as his starting quarterback again. Finally, in 2024, after waiting three seasons to see what Saleh could do as a full-fledged quarterback, the Jets gave Saleh just five games against Rodgers to prove it.
At the end of his 56-game tenure with the Jets, Saleh was 20-36. Considering all the adversity he faced during that time, you have to wonder how Saleh would have fared if one thing hadn’t gone his way. How different would the Jets be today if they had a league-average quarterback instead of Wilson when he started playing for them?
I don’t know the answer. For some reason, the Jets had had enough of Saleh.
