Former Commanders HC claims Robert Saleh firing creates roadblock for Jets to land Davante Adams
In a stunning twist, Robert Saleh is out as the head coach of the New York Jets, per Adam Schefter. At 2-3, the team decided to move in a new direction, handing the reins temporarily to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
With already one massive change taking place this week, one former Washington Commanders head coach believes the chances of Davante Adams joining Aaron Rodgers got slimmer.
Speaking on Tuesday's edition of "Good Morning Football," Ron Rivera claimed that a new head coach replacing Robert Saleh will need a clean slate, which is not what adding Adams allows. Rivera said (4:49):
"That's not going to happen now, unless they really, truly believe they're going to win, then they go all out. But I would be surprised if that happens. Because again, if you're going to start over again, you're going to be hiring a new head coach, maybe Jeff Ulbrich wins the job.
"But if he doesn't, and you're going to go to the end of the year, and now you're going to go out and find your next new coach, you're going to want to give him a clean slate."
Of course, one may argue that the team could add Davante Adams for the remainder of the season and trade him afterward. However, most traded players who have asked for a trade want new deals. Those new deals usually run for multiple seasons. With Rodgers already under contract in 2025, Adams likely wouldn't want to move twice and learn two offenses in the next 10 months.
Exploring why Woody Johnson decided to fire Robert Saleh
The first smoking gun of the decision lies with the record. Had the team been 4-1 or 5-0, Johnson most likely would not have even considered a mid-season change. However, at under .500 and riding a two-game losing streak, Johnson could look at this as the team's Hail Mary to save the season after so many examples of Jets playoff-killing mid-season slumps.
However, some believe that Robert Saleh was fired because the Jets also have not gotten better offensively. Last year, through Week 5, the Jets scored 93 points. This year, with Aaron Rodgers in tow, the Jets also scored 93 points. Of course, this is unlikely to be the cause considering Robert Saleh's defensive-minded background.
That said, he was in charge of picking the offensive coordinator and the assistant coaches who worked with the offense. However, at the time of writing, none of the offensive staff appears to have been let go. Meaning, the problem might be viewed as solely landing with Saleh.
To fire Robert Saleh this quickly after facing the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, Johnson likely had a feeling that he was going to need to do this at some point this season. Once things turned downward, Johnson just went through with his decision. This, of course, brings to question why the Jets simply didn't get another head coach in the offseason.
At this point, it seems that Johnson simply needed confirmation of what he believed to be true after watching the New York Jets struggle without Rodgers last season.
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Good Morning Football" and H/T Sportskeeda.