The New York Jets have fired coach Robert Saleh after suffering consecutive NFL defeats against the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings.
Saleh has been under pressure following two wins and three defeats in the Jets’ opening five games, starting with a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in their opener.
Defensive co-ordinator Jeff Ulbrich will replace the 45-year-old on an initial interim basis, team co-owner Woody Johnson has confirmed, starting with Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Bills (8.15pm ET).
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 8, 2024
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Robert Saleh record
Former tight end Salah joined the Jets in January 2021 on a five-year contract and finished with a record of 20-36 – the worst of any Jets coach in charge for at least 40 games.
Johnson denied he had rowed with Saleh earlier this year but appeared to warn in February that anything other than the play-offs would be unacceptable this season.
“The discussions I’ve had in the last couple of months, they’ve seen me about as mad as I can be with what was going on, with the offense particularly,” Johnson reportedly said.
“We have all this talent and we have to deploy talent properly. So I think they all got the message. This is it. This is the time to go. We’ve got to produce this year.”
“They [defense] kept us in the game.” pic.twitter.com/ZBTxYWnF4G
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 6, 2024
New York Jets results
Despite ample anticipation around the new season – partly spurred by the return of quarterback Aaron Rodgers following a long-term knee injury – Saleh has faced criticism from fans and analysts, with offense again the key concern.
Speaking after the 23-17 defeat to Minnesota in London on Sunday, when the Jets were 17-0 behind during the second quarter, Rodgers said he was “confident in the leadership”.
“The most important positive to take is if we stick together, because there will be a lot of people outside of the building who won’t be sticking with the Jets,” the 40-year-old added.
“We stick together. I still have a lot of confidence in this team. It’s a team that’s going to make a run, whether that run starts next week, the following week or whenever it might be.”
