The New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh after just five games into the 2024 season. The team, currently holding a 2-3 record, made the decision early Thursday morning.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “the Jets told Saleh around 10 a.m. ET.” Shortly after, team owner Woody Johnson released a statement announcing the firing and naming defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich as the interim head coach.
Saleh’s tenure with the Jets, which began with high hopes in 2021, ends with a disappointing 20-36 record over 56 games. Despite his reputation as a standout defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, Saleh never managed to lead the Jets to a winning season.
The team’s struggles can be partly attributed to quarterback issues. The Jets drafted Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, but he “ended up being a major failure for the franchise.”
The acquisition of veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers before the 2023 season seemed to offer hope, but Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury in his very first game with the team.
Now, in a surprising move, the Jets have decided to part ways with Saleh just five games into the 2024 season, with Rodgers back from injury. The firing reportedly “caught Saleh by surprise,” according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer.
Adding to the controversy, multiple sources report that Saleh’s dismissal was handled in an aggressive manner.
“Jets coach Robert Saleh was escorted out of the building by the team’s director of security, after Saleh got the news,” sources say. Being escorted out was described as “unusual” and didn’t occur when the previous coach, Adam Gase, was fired.
One insider noted, “It’s not unprecedented, but it’s unusual. The Browns did it to G.M. George Kokinis in 2009. If there have been others in the past 15 years, I’m not currently remembering who and when they were.”
Critics are calling the Jets’ actions “dysfunctional,” with one source stating, “Yes, dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things.” The same source described the escort-out as “a power play, plain and simple. It’s a stone’s throw from, for example, deliberately mispronouncing the former employee’s last name during the press conference regarding the move.”
The unusual circumstances surrounding Saleh’s firing raise questions about the Jets’ organizational culture and decision-making processes. It remains to be seen how this controversial move will affect the team’s performance for the remainder of the season and their ability to attract top coaching talent in the future.