The New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday amid the team’s disappointing start to this season and apparent tensions between star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the now-former sideline boss.
"This morning, I informed Robert Saleh that he will no longer serve as Head Coach of the Jets," team owner Woody Johnson said in a statement.
The team entered this 2024 campaign with high hopes and Rodgers' return to the huddle after missing nearly all of 2023 with a leg injury.
The Jets were blown out in the season opener by the San Francisco 49ers before rebounding with wins over the woeful Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.
But the past two weekends have ended in frustrating losses, at home to the Denver Broncos and in London against the Minnesota Vikings.
In addition to the losing, there's also been perceived tension between Rogers and Saleh.
The Jets committed five false start penalties in the Denver loss and Saleh said it could be linked to the tricky cadence Rodgers employs when barking out pre-snap signals.
And in the win over New England, Rodgers appeared to rebuff an attempted hug from Saleh after a touchdown.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The Jets' Decision
The New York Jets parted ways with HC Robert Saleh Tuesday and announced defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich would serve as the team's interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
After starting the season 2-1, the Jets dropped a 10-9 home contest to the Denver Broncos in Week 4 before falling to the Minnesota Vikings, 20-17, last Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
"This was not an easy decision, but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction," Chairman Woody Johnson said in a statement.
The Jets' Interim Head Coach
Through five games, Ulbrich has led a defensive unit that ranks No. 1 in yards/play (4.26) and No. 2 in yards allowed/game (255.8). Despite losing edge Jermaine Johnson to an Achilles injury in Week 2, the Jets have racked up 18 sacks, their most after five games since 2008. He led his unit to a No. 3 overall (292.3) finish in 2023 and a No. 4 finish in 2022.
"He is a tough coach who has the respect of the coaches and players on this team," said Ambassador Johnson of Ulbrich. "I believe he along with the coaches on this staff can get the most out of our talented team and attain the goals we established this offseason."
Ulbrich, who played linebacker at Hawaii, was a third-round pick of the 49ers in 2000 and appeared in 120 games (75 starts) for San Francisco over nine seasons, registering 501 tackles. He began his coaching career as Seattle's special teams assistant in 2010. That led to stints with UCLA (linebackers coach and special teams coordinator) and Atlanta (2012-20 coaching linebackers, as the assistant head coach and ultimately as the DC) before he joined the Jets in 2021.
"I would say the foundation of who we are is we're going to do what we do," Ulbrich said of his coaching philosophy this past spring. "We take great pride in the fact that we have a great coaching staff that really is about skills, technique and based on fundamentals and principles that we can really rely on to play the brand of defense we want to play. The beauty of that is, when I get to address the group, I'm not sitting there talking about 17,000 different schematic programs. I'm talking about finish, I'm talking about toughness, I'm talking about technique.
"You're talking about, to me, the real essence of football, I think that that's what makes us a little different than most. But at the same time, I'd say that we're not so stubborn as coaches, that we don't provide a few wrinkles here and there to keep the offense off balance, pushing ourselves this offseason to grow from a schematic standpoint, so we'll never lose our essence, and that's being based in great technique, great strain, great finish, great toughness, great bonds, but we never lose that."
Saleh, hired in January 2021, finished with a 20-36 mark as head coach. This is the third in-season head-coaching change in franchise history.
Where Does the Blame Lie?
Saleh's firing marks the first time in owner Johnson's 25-year tenure that he has fired a coach in the middle of the season. After last season, a 7-10 finish, Johnson acknowledged that he was livid with the outcome and raised the stakes for Saleh by demanding significant improvement. Saleh's .357 winning percentage ranks as the worst in Jets franchise history among coaches with a minimum of 40 games at the helm.
The Jets entered the 2024 season with high expectations, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning from an Achilles injury that had derailed his 2023 season after just four plays, but they have struggled on offense.
After just five games, and a disappointing 2-3 start to the season, the Jets are looking for a new head coach to lead them to a winning record. While it's too early to say for sure, it's likely that Saleh's firing is the beginning of a major shift in the Jets' organization.
What's Next for Saleh?
Saleh's tenure was marked by strong defense and poor offense, largely due to the quarterback instability. In his first season, the Jets drafted Wilson No. 2 overall, but he struggled mightily and eventually was benched and replaced last season by Rodgers, who tore his Achilles on the fourth snap of the season.
Saleh, who was hired by the Jets in 2021, had a 20-36 record as the team's head coach. Saleh becomes the third NFL coach to be fired after losing a game in London, according to ESPN Research. The Raiders fired coach Dennis Allen in 2014 the day after they lost 38-14 to the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, while the Dolphins fired coach Joe Philbin in 2015 the day after they lost 27-14 to the Jets at Wembley. Saleh's firing comes two days after the Jets lost 23-17 to the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
What About Hackett?
Under intense scrutiny essentially since he took over as Jets offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett remains in place after Robert Saleh‘s Tuesday-morning ouster. The Jets are not planning to can the embattled OC, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Considering Hackett’s ties to Aaron Rodgers, this is unsurprising. The Jets have gone through interesting efforts to curb Hackett’s power, however, having made an effort to hire an assistant that would limit the ex-Packers OC’s reach in the building. That plan did not come to fruition, and Hackett is calling plays for the Jets for a second straight season.
That said, Hackett surviving may have caught some in the organization by surprise. Rather than Saleh being in jeopardy of losing his job post-London, SNY’s Connor Hughes notes some suspected Hackett to be closer to the chopping block. Jets front office figures have been scrutinizing Hackett’s work recently, Hughes adds.
Hackett is no stranger to in-season firings. The Jaguars removed him from his OC post during the 2018 season. More memorably, the Broncos made him one of the few first-year HCs in NFL history to be fired before his first season ended. Hackett’s disastrous Denver stint lasted all of 15 games. The Jets, however, hired him to call plays soon after. The move certainly had an impact on the team acquiring Rodgers, who was near retirement at the time Hackett signed on to call Jets plays.
Scrutiny aside, Hackett has the backing of Rodgers, effectively an organizational power broker given his importance to this Jets regime’s chances of sticking around beyond 2024. Seemingly, the only chance that happens is if interim HC Jeff Ulbrich leads a turnaround. Hackett’s tie to Rodgers, stemming from three seasons as a non-play-calling Green Bay OC, has proven strong enough to stabilize — to a degree, at least — the second-generation NFL coach’s career.
Is This the Beginning of the End for the Jets?
The Jets' firing of Saleh is a major blow to the team's hopes for a successful season. The team is in a tough spot, and it remains to be seen whether Ulbrich can turn things around. But one thing is clear: the Jets are in a period of transition, and the future of the team is uncertain. The team is facing some tough decisions in the coming months, and it will be interesting to see how they navigate this uncertain time.
The Jets have a lot of work to do if they want to be a contender in the NFL. But with a new coach, and a new direction, the Jets are hoping for a fresh start.
