Why was New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh fired?

While it’s rare for an NFL team to fire a head coach this early in the season, it’s not unheard of. And in the case of New York Jets coach Robert Saleh, he’d been sitting on a hot seat for a pretty long time, and the Jets’ historically haven’t shown much patience for coaches who don’t show signs of improving the team.

Why was Saleh fired as Jets head coach?

The Jets hired Saleh in 2021 on a five-year contract, but in his first three seasons and into the 2024 season, he held a 20-36 record. The Jets haven’t made it to the playoffs in 13 years, and three of those now have been under Saleh. After taking the team to a 2-3 start and failing to make a comeback against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Stadium in London, England, the Jets front office decided they’d seen enough and sacked Saleh after just five games.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers came onto the Jets team in the spring of 2023 and there was a lot of hope that his arrival would turn things around. But a season-ending Achilles tear kept him out all season. When he came back this season, it was Saleh’s chance to prove things would turn around for the Jets. But that hasn’t happened and Rodgers hasn’t played up to his potential - in their loss to the Vikings, Rodgers threw three interceptions and the Jets just simply haven’t looked good all season.

Jets owner Woody Johnson has never fired a coach mid-season before, but Saleh and former coach Todd Bowles were the only Jets coaches to stay with the team more than two seasons without making the playoffs. So clearly his chances were coming to an end soon.

To start this season, the Jets lost to the 49ers. They bounced back with a win over the Titans and Patriots in Weeks 2 and 3. But then they lost in embarrassing fashion at home to the Broncos in Week 4. They committed 15 penalties in that game, five of which were false starts that Saleh blamed on Rodgers’ cadence, causing a bit of tension between him and his quarterback. They then went to London to play the Vikings, where they fell to 17-0 before making a comeback to make it a one-score game. But when Rodgers threw his third interception, it sealed the loss for the Jets.

With Saleh out, Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the interim head coach. If he can somehow turn things around, he might earn the spot to keep. If not, there are some other options out there that may interest New York. The Jets will face the Buffalo Bills for some Monday Night Football action in Week 6.