New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his team are off to a disappointing start this season. (Photo by Bob Kubbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The New York Jets don’t seem too worried about anything beyond 2025. They knew Aaron Rodgers’ time was short and focused on this season. That’s why Robert Saleh was sacked after five games. There’s no time to hold back.
However, soon we will be faced with a reality that is not at all pretty.
The Jets will need to find a new head coach in January, likely a new general manager and a number of new players. Perhaps interim coach Jeff Ulbrich can take a talented team to the playoffs and answer that question. Perhaps Aaron Rodgers will return in 2025 and postpone the quarterback issue for a season.
However, there is also a very real possibility that the Jets will be disappointed all season and have questions about next offseason. What happens if you go all in and fail?
Jets may need rebuilding
The Jets have a lot of veterans, which makes sense if they’re chasing a shot at glory with a soon-to-be 41-year-old quarterback.
The Jets have 15 players on their active roster over the age of 29, not including 30-year-old no-show pass rusher Haason Reddick. The Jets also have some good young players like receiver Garrett Wilson, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, cornerback Source Gardner, and running back Breece Hall (though there are concerns that Hall may struggle this season). . If the Jets decide to rebuild if the season doesn’t turn around, “we’re all probably going to be out of here if we don’t do what we know we can do,” Rodgers told the Jets. May Media — There are several components.
However, it will not be easy to sell a new coach based on the future situation.
The Jets have the longest playoff run of any major American professional sport. They have a lot of veterans who are coming to an end. That includes Rodgers, who said he doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be able to play. If he decides to stay, he will enter the final year of his contract in 2025. And even if he stays, that might not be a selling point for the new coach. He will be 42 in December 2025 and he hasn’t played very well this season, so you could ask Saleh how difficult it will be to coach him. The Jets don’t have a player on their roster who could be considered a successor after 2025. They probably won’t be in a great position in the draft, and it’s not an exciting quarterback draft class anyway.
Ownership status doesn’t help. Woody Johnson bought the team in 2000, and the Jets have gone 170-222 since then. The Jets won the AFC East once in his first 24 seasons as owner. Johnson is generally regarded as one of the NFL’s worst owners, which could bring down the franchise.
The Jets, who own most of their future draft picks, sent a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Eagles for Redick, who has not yet been reported. And perhaps because Johnson has said that this is “one of the most talented teams the New York Jets have ever assembled” and that he wants to “give this team the best chance to win this season.” If so, it would be like trading future picks for Davante. Adams or someone else is at the table. They still have plenty of cap space going forward. The rebuild probably won’t take long.
But it’s still a team that has created a culture of losing due to bad ownership, and may be looking for a new quarterback without a clear plan to fix that problem. And what happens next will likely play out in one of the most pressure-filled markets in the NFL. Who are some of the hot, up-and-coming coaching candidates looking to step in there?
How will the Jets finish this season?
Things can change very quickly in the NFL. It’s not crazy to think the Jets can turn things around with Ulbrich. The Jets still have talent. A win against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night would put them in first place in the AFC East. If Greg Zuerlein makes a field goal in the final moments of the Week 4 loss, the team would now be 3-2.
The Jets may not be far off from just about any team firing a coach during the season. They haven’t played well this season, but I don’t think they can’t turn things around.
That would solve some, but not all, of the Jets’ problems going forward. If the Jets can make the playoffs and break a depressing postseason drought, it looks like they could give Ulbrich a chance to coach next season. Perhaps he is the answer. Impossible to say yet.
But getting to that place requires a certain amount of optimism. The Jets look like a team led by an old quarterback who can’t run the ball, and aside from one game against the hapless Patriots, they’re far from a playoff team. Even a wild card appearance and early exit won’t satisfy most Jets fans. It’s reasonable to think the Jets aren’t as good as the Bills in the AFC East, won’t earn a wild card spot, and won’t win enough games to push back into the 2025 NFL Draft.
Saleh’s firing on Tuesday was troubling in several ways. But the real problems may begin after the season ends. And every coaching candidate will be aware of that.
