Why did Jets fire Robert Saleh? Exploring 3 potential reasons behind franchise's major move
The New York Jets fired coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday. Saleh was in his fourth season as the Jets coach.
Saleh was hired in January of 2021 as he signed a five-year deal to be New York's coach. He was the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and was widely considered one of the top coordinators available for a head coaching job.
However, New York fired Saleh not even midway through his fourth season. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the Jets' interim head coach.
Following Saleh's dismissal, here are three potential reasons why the Jets decided to part ways with the coach.
3 reasons why Robert Saleh was fired by the Jets
#1, No success as coach
The biggest reason for Saleh's firing is the lack of success the Jets have had with him as their coach.
Since taking over as the coach, the Jets didn't make the playoffs and were yet to record a winning season. Saleh was 20-36 as the coach of the Jets and his best season was 7-10, which he accomplished twice.
New York is off to a 2-3 start in 2024 and with the Jets having Super Bowl aspirations, the organization went a different route in the coaching position.
#2, Lack of offense
Robert Saleh was a defensive head coach and with the NFL going more and more offensive, the Jets trailed behind.
With Saleh under the helm, New York struggled mightily to score points, especially to begin the season.
Through five weeks this season, the Jets have scored 93 points (23rd out of 32 teams), which averages just 18.6 points per game (25th in the NFL). New York also scored just 93 points in Weeks 1-5 in 2023.
The lack of offense hurt New York's playoff chances under Saleh.
#3, Not on same page with Aaron Rodgers
According to NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Robert Saleh were not on the same page which likely impacted the decision to fire the coach.
Rodgers no doubt has a lot of say in the organization, and if he was not on the same page with the coach, his input could have played a role.