Woody Johnson is not taking my call. If he did, I would ask him the following questions:
- IF Greg Zuerlein made the 50-yard field goal with 0:47 left in the game against Denver, and the Jets won 12-10, would you still have fired Robert Saleh today?
- IF Aaron Rodgers had thrown the ball a yard or two in bounds, rather than out of bounds, with Garrett Wilson open down the right sideline with 1:35 left in the game against Minnesota, and Wilson caught the ball to presumably give the Jets a 24-23 lead, would you still have fired Robert Saleh today?
The Jets offense has looked horrible the last two weeks, unable to run the ball or protect the QB. Rodgers has been beaten up and missed on many throws. Despite that, if those two plays go the Jets way, they’d be 4-1 right now.
IF Woody Johnson would’ve fired Robert Saleh anyway because he disagrees with him philosophically, or he believes he’s lost the locker room, or Aaron Rodgers let it be known he has no respect for him, then I understand.
IF this is simply about how the offense has looked in the last two weeks, then I think this is a ridiculous move by an owner who has done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt.
Does Woody have a right to be frustrated? Yes. On paper this team has Top 10 talent, but they are not playing close to their potential on offense. The opposite is true on defense as they have overcome multiple challenges this season including the season-ending injury to Jermaine Johnson, the short-term injury to CJ Mosley and the endless holdout of Haason Reddick to put the Jets in a position to win their last 4 games. That’s another reason why it makes no sense to fire the defensive oriented head coach and promote the defensive coordinator. In the off-season, yes, but not now. Saleh is out of the building (apparently escorted by security in a very classy move by Woody) and Interim Head Coach Jeff Ulbrich will have to spend at least a portion of his day neglecting his defense while also managing the offense and special teams.
And guess what, Nathaniel Hackett remains as the offensive coordinator.
Saleh and Nathaniel Hackett were a shotgun marriage borne out of the Jets attempt to recruit Rodgers. It worked. Unfortunately for Saleh, when Rodgers went down after 4 plays in 2023, he was stuck with the former Denver head coach, whose performance led Sean Payton to say, “might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL”. Saleh, and everyone else in the Jets building swallowed hard, because Rodgers wanted Hackett, and the Jets were all-in on Rodgers in 2024.
After all that hype, Saleh ended up coaching Rodgers for just 5 games.
In baseball, basketball and hockey there are real-life examples of teams firing a coach mid-season that created a spark. In some cases, it led to a championship (Bob Lemon for the New York Yankees in 1978, Craig Berube for the St. Louis Blues in 2007). In at least one case, it led to a dynasty (Pat Riley for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980’s).
There’s no equivalent in the NFL of a team with championship aspirations firing a head coach in the middle of the season and then reaching the promised land. If it works, Woody’s move will be applauded and probably will become a future trend.
What in Woody’s 25-year history with the Jets makes you believe that this will work?
Wait, don’t answer that. I thought of one more question for Woody.
IF the Minnesota game wasn’t in London, your home for 4 years when you served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, in front of your guests and dignitaries, would you still have fired Robert Saleh today?
Ridiculous.
