On Tuesday, Jets owner Woody Johnson announced that head coach Robert Saleh was relieved of his duties, following a record of 20-36. In his place, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will take over on an interim basis for the rest of the season. This was not a surprising move; however, it was made at a surprising time. While he has not had a good record as head coach of the Jets, he only had Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback for all of five games and four plays.

The Robert Saleh Era

Saleh joined the Jets as head coach in January 2021. The move motivated the Jets fan base, as he was seen as a very enthusiastic and energetic defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. His defensive players in San Francisco loved him, including stars like Richard Sherman.

Coming off the Adam Gase era, which the Jets and their fans would like to forget, Saleh was both a link to the past as well as a look to the future. As a link to the past, the most recent successful Jets head coach was Rex Ryan, who was an energetic defensive coordinator hired for his first head coaching job by the Jets. The same was the case with Saleh. As a look to the future, Saleh was in his early 40’s when he became the head coach, and had a foundational rookie quarterback to mold.

Both GM Joe Douglas (still employed) and Saleh became tied to quarterback Zach Wilson, who was drafted second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. There were ups and downs during Wilson’s time with the Jets, though they were mostly downs. Wilson was replaced by the likes of Mike White, Joe Flacco, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle. Following the 2022 season, Rodgers was brought in. Part of the selling point was to let Wilson learn from Rodgers, but after four plays in 2023, and a season ending Achilles injury to Rodgers, Wilson back in the starting lineup.

Entering the 2024 season, Wilson was gone, and Rodgers was healthy again. With a star-studded defense led by the likes of Quinnen Williams, Quincy Williams, and Sauce Gardner, that side of the ball was good to go. On the offensive side, Rodgers was joined by Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and a revamped offensive line anchored by Tyron Smith. However, the offense has not yet hit its stride under coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

With lofty expectations for the offense and the team overall, Johnson had seen enough after five games. He stated that the decision was his and his alone. He also stated that it was not only based on this season, but he has been considering this move for a while. Conspiracy theories abound though, from Johnson fuming about losing in the UK (where he was the US ambassador), to a strained relationship with Rodgers (see the “two score” shove from earlier this year as evidence), imaginations take over with surprises like this. Additionally, Saleh could not have been happy with the offense’s performance after giving a lot of autonomy to Hackett and Rodgers. He could have easily lost a power struggle against Rodgers.

Here is wishing Saleh the best in the future. By all accounts, he is a good guy that his players liked. His undoing was a combination of a bad quarterback to build around (Wilson), as well as a bad offensive coordinator (Hackett) when he finally had a good quarterback.

What’s Next for the Jets?

Ulbrich slots into the head coaching spot. The leader of the team’s unit of strength now becomes the team’s overall leader. What will be different from Saleh will be an interesting subplot to see play out over the rest of this season.

If nothing else, Ulbrich’s defense has been practicing against Hackett’s and Rodgers’ offense all season. He can bring the perspective of what works against this offense, providing a different perspective for Hackett and Rodgers to gamelan against. Ulbrich is also very outspoken. He will have the team ready each game, with the excitement that the defense shows week in and week out. However, he is not going to be able to change much of the offense. It seemed as though Saleh focused on the defensive side of the ball and let Hackett and Rodgers run the offense. Time will tell if Ulbrich handles things the same way.

Beyond this season, there will be some interesting options for the Jets to look at for the head coaching position. After using a napkin to “resign as HC of NYJ” in January 2000, Bill Belichick is still available. He hated the Jets openly, so this is an extremely low probability. Mike Vrabel, a Belichick disciple, is still available after an overall successful run as Tennessee Titans head coach. There will also be coordinators’ names thrown around, from Kliff Kingsbury who is doing a great job with Jayden Daniels, to Joe Brady in Buffalo.

This move, along with a potential new regime next season, can have an impact on Rodgers as well. Would the new coach keep Rodgers handpicked offensive coordinator in Hackett? Would the new coach want a 40+ year old Hall of Fame-bound quarterback as he starts his new job, or a younger one to build around? Would Rodgers want to play for another new coach, and how much influence would he have in the selection process?

Unfortunately, this move wreaks of “Typical Jets” and when analyzed, is not that surprising for this franchise. According to reports, Saleh was escorted out by security and was not allowed to say goodbye to his team.

Photo Credit; One Piece Trend

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