Robert Saleh’s tenure as the New York Jets head coach is over.
The Jets fired Saleh on Tuesday, team owner Woody Johnson announced in a statement. ESPN was first to report the news. New York got off to a disappointing 2-3 start to the season following Aaron Rodgers‘ return from an Achilles injury.
Saleh, 45, was in the middle of his fourth season with the franchise. He went 20-36 during his tenure. The Jets hired Saleh ahead of the 2021 season after his notable four-year tenure as the San Francisco 49ers‘ defensive coordinator, which included a Super Bowl appearance after the 2019 season. Saleh continued to have success on defense during his stint with the Jets, as his unit in New York finished fourth in yards allowed in 2022 and third in yards allowed in 2023.
Saleh was “blindsided” by Johnson’s decision to fire him after showing up to his office in the team facility as usual on Tuesday morning, he told FOX Sports senior NFL insider Jay Glazer, and is “disappointed” he will not get a chance to turn around a “very good roster.” According to multiple reports, Saleh did not get a chance to speak to coaches or players after the firing and was instead escorted out of the Jets’ facility by the team’s head of security.
Saleh also reportedly has no plans to join another team’s staff as a consultant through the remainder of the 2024 season, and will instead prepare for the next hiring cycle, where he will likely be regarded as one of the top defensive coordinator candidates avaliable.
The Jets’ defense got off to another impressive start under Saleh to open the 2024 season, ranking second in yards allowed (255.8 per game). However, the offensive struggles that plagued and ultimately doomed Saleh’s tenure continued through the first five games of the season, even with a healthy Rodgers. The Jets rank 27th in total offense (286.6 yards per game) and 25th in scoring (18.6 points per game) despite Rodgers’ return.
Those offensive struggles were on full display in the Jets’ last two games. New York was upset by the Denver Broncos, 10-9, at home in Week 4 before falling to the Minnesota Vikings, 23-17, in London on Sunday. In the loss to the Vikings, Rodgers threw three interceptions, including a pick-six. However, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett — who has a close relationship with Rodgers, will reportedly remain in place despite some on the Jets believing Hackett was more likely to be fired than Saleh entering this week, per SNY.
The Jets had notably high expectations entering 2024 as they were prepared to finally have Rodgers healthy after trading for him in 2023. Rodgers tore his achilles tendon four snaps into his Jets debut in September 2023, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
But there were also constant questions over how strong Saleh’s relationship with Rodgers, especially in recent months after the quarterback missed mandatory minicamp in June.
Both sides, however, continued to publicly insist that their relationship was “great.” Yet however strong Rodgers’ relationship with Saleh was, it wasn’t strong enough to save the head coach his job. Not only is Saleh the first coach fired in the 2024 NFL season, but he is also the first head coach that Johnson has fired in the middle of the season over his 25 years of owning the team.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the Jets’ interim coach, FOX Sports’ Peter Schrager reported. Ulbrich, 47, has been the Jets’ defensive coordinator for the last four seasons under Saleh.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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