On Tuesday, Jets owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson and general manager Joe Douglas fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday after the team went 2-3 in its first five games this season. It was an unexpected and dramatic move, one done seemingly to put the team on a different course. They came into the season as Super Bowl contenders, but now look like a fringe playoff squad. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been elevated to interim head coach.
The 45-year-Saleh was hired as the Jets head coach and signed to a five-year deal on January 14, 2021, after being the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator for 2017-2020. He was 20-36 overall and finished 7-10 in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons after going 4-13 in his first year at the helm.
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Despite the statements from the Jets front office on what led to Saleh’s dismissal, his expertise on the defensive side of the ball is the only reason the team has been respectable this season. They are ranked No. 2 in the 32-team NFL allowing just 256.5 yards per game and have given up just five touchdowns. The obvious issues are on the offensive side led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
For the past two games — both losses — the polarizing signal caller, who the Jets acquired in a April 2023 trade with the Green Bay Packers, has looked like a quarterback who’ll turn 41 in December and is coming off a torn left Achilles tendon suffered in Week 1 last season that sidelined him for the entirety of 2023. The result has been an offense that has been unproductive. The Jets scored just three field goals in a 10-9 home defeat to the Denver Broncos on September 29 and lost 23-17 to the Minnesota Vikings in London, United Kingdom this past Sunday.
The three-time NFL MVP was only 29-54, sacked three times, and threw three interceptions, including one that Minnesota linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel returned for a 63-yard touchdown in the first quarter to put the Jets in a 10-0 deficit.
“I think there’s always positives to take,” Rodgers said after the loss and ahead of the potentially far-reaching matchup versus the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Oct 14. The Bills lead the AFC at 3-2 and are coming off a 23-20 road loss this past Sunday to the Houston Texans on a game-ending field goal. Head-to-head outcomes and records in division games are among the tie-breakers used to determine the division title if teams have the same record at the end of the regular season. “The most important positive to take with us is if we stick together because there will be a lot of people outside the building [who] won’t be sticking with the Jets, so we stick together,” Rodgers said. “I still have a lot of confidence in this team. I think it’s a team that is going to make a run. Now, whether that run starts next week, the following week, or whenever it might be, I’m confident in our guys. I’m confident in leadership and confident we’ll get this thing straightened out.” Heading into Week 6 of the NFL schedule, the Jets’ offense ranks 27th in total yards with 1,433 –- an average of just 286.6 per game. Their ground attack has not been impactful, gaining 80.4 per outing, a key cause for them being 25th in points per game at 18.6 Running back Breece Hall, who was six yards shy of rushing for 1,000 yards a year ago, continues to struggle and has only gained 197 yards in five games. averaging just three yards per attempt.
