By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
AP Pro Football Writer
Robert Saleh insisted no one was panicked about the New York Jets’ slow start. A day later, he was out of a job. Owner Woody Johnson made the stunning decision Tuesday to fire Saleh five games into his fourth season after the team’s 2-3 start following a 23-17 loss to Minnesota in London on Sunday.
“This morning, I informed Robert Saleh that he will no longer serve as head coach of the Jets,” Johnson said in a statement issued by the team. “I thanked him for his hard work these past 3 1/2 years and wished him and his family well moving forward.
“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.”
Saleh was 20-36 as coach of the Jets, who are trying to snap the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 13 seasons. The move marks the first time in Johnson’s 25-year tenure that a head coach has been fired during the season.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season — with the Jets maintaining expectations to make the playoffs.
“He is a tough coach who has the respect of the coaches and players on this team,” Johnson said. “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.”
The surprising move came a day after Saleh said he was confident Aaron Rodgers and the Jets would be able to turn things around after losing two straight, including falling to undefeated Minnesota. Rodgers had his worst game with New York, throwing three interceptions.
“There’s so much football to be played,” Saleh said Monday. “There’s so many things that we can get better at, and there’s so many things that we can continue to build on, the things that we are doing well.
“So, I’m not panicked. Nobody in the building is panicked.”
But apparently Johnson had seen enough from Saleh, who became the NFL’s first coach fired this season. Saleh, who had one year remaining on his contract, had the worst winning percentage — .357 — of any Jets coach with at least 40 games.
It’s the 12th time since 2000 that a team has changed coaches just five games or fewer into a season, with six coming in the last six seasons. Matt Rhule was the most recent, having been fired by Carolina after five games in 2022.
The Jets face the Buffalo Bills (3-2) on Monday night, when they have a chance to share the AFC East lead with a victory. But instead of Saleh, it will be the 47-year-old Ulbrich leading the team on the sideline.
Ulbrich, who played linebacker for 10 seasons with San Francisco, joined the Jets as part of Saleh’s initial staff in 2021. Ulbrich was an an assistant with Atlanta for six seasons before coming to New York.
Saleh replaced the fired Adam Gase in January 2021 after the Jets went 9-23 in his tenure. New York went after the energetic and well-regarded Saleh, who was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator for four seasons and oversaw a group that was ranked No. 2 overall and helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl for the 2019 season.
Saleh, the son of Lebanese parents, was believed to be the first Muslim head coach in NFL history when the Jets hired him. Saleh wore a patch of Lebanon’s flag on his left arm during the game in London on Sunday, something he also did at times last season. The NFL encouraged players and coaches to represent their heritage.
Saleh’s tenure began with a major decision as he and general manager moved on from quarterback Sam Darnold — the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 — to draft Zach Wilson with the second overall pick in 2021.
While Saleh and Ulbrich’s defense was a strength for the Jets, Wilson and the offense struggled mightily. Quarterback instability was a theme that was consistent throughout Saleh’s tenure in New York.
The Jets traded for Rodgers in April 2023, adding the four-time NFL MVP to a franchise looking for a winner. But last season was short-circuited when Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut.
New York limped to a 7-10 record and while Johnson wouldn’t specifically say there was a playoff mandate for this season, the owner made it clear he needed to see marked improvement from the team by saying “we have to do a lot better than seven games.”
Rodgers healed and was ready for the season opener, but he has been banged up the last two weeks and is dealing with a sprained ankle that hobbled him throughout the Jets’ loss to Darnold and the Vikings. Saleh said Monday that preliminary tests indicated Rodgers should be able to play against the Bills.
But now Saleh will be only a spectator.
There were questions about his relationship with the 40-year-old Rodgers, but both denied any friction as recently as last week in London when the quarterback said “there’s some driving force trying to put a wedge outside the facility” between the two.
“We’re really good friends,” Rodgers said. “We enjoy each other. We spend time almost every day in his office talking about things and talking about the energy of the team, focus of the team and what we need to get done, how I can help him out, how he can help me out. So we’ve got a great relationship.”
The Jets now will try to become the third team to make the playoffs with an interim coach leading the way, hoping to join the 2021 Raiders with Rich Bisaccia and the 1961 Oilers with Wally Lemm.
