The New York Jets (2-3) made the decision this past Tuesday to fire head coach Robert Saleh just five games into the 2024 season.
Five games of underperformance, particularly on offense, was enough for team owner Woody Johnson to make a change. New York named defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Bill Belichick wasn’t exactly a fan of the move and openly criticized Johnson’s decision on his weekly “ManningCast” appearance during the Monday Night Football matchup between the Jets and Buffalo Bills (3-2).
“I’m not a big Jets fan in case you don’t know that,” Belichick said, via Awful Announcing. “Coach Saleh did a good job with that program and he brought in a culture and a level of toughness and competitiveness. Unfortunately, the offense hasn’t been — you know a lot of quarterbacks last year and a little bit of a slow start [this season].
“But I thought coach Saleh really did a good job with this team and they’re probably not that far away from winning. … That’s kind of what it’s been there at the Jets. Barely won over 30% of [their games] over the last 10 years. The owner being the owner — ready, fire, aim.”
Jets begin new era after firing Robert Saleh
Belichick took issue with the timing of Saleh’s firing, which came after the 23-17 Week 5 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings (5-0) in London. Saleh went 20-36 with the Jets, with zero playoff appearances in his three full-time seasons as head coach.
He reportedly had plans to relieve Nathaniel Hackett of his play-calling duties, handing over the reins to passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Todd Downing. Saleh came to that decision Tuesday morning, but roughly five minutes later was called to Johnson’s office where he learned of his fate, according to Connor Hughes of SNY. Ulbrich followed through on Saleh’s plan, appointing Downing as the team’s play caller.
As for quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ possible involvement in Saleh’s firing, the 40-year-old told Pat McAfee last Wednesday he “resents any of those accusations,” downplaying the amount of power he is perceived to have within the organization.
“As far as any of the ridiculous allegations out there, I’m not gonna spend more than one sentence in response to it. I resent any of those accusations because they’re patently false and it’s interesting the amount of power that people think that I have, which I don’t,” Rodgers said. “I love Robert, and it was one of those days yesterday.”
