NFL Execs Rip ‘Premature’ Decision By Jets To Fire Robert Saleh

The New York Jets made a significant move Tuesday by removing Robert Saleh from his head coaching post just five games into the season.

And the firing of Saleh sure baffled plenty of executives from around the NFL.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe spoke to several executives who were mostly perplexed by the timing of New York's decision, which Jets owner Woody Johnson put squarely on his shoulders.

"This team is good enough to win the division," an executive told Howe. "But now you're not even focused on Buffalo because the coach was just fired. It just doesn't seem well-thought-out."

The Jets were expected to be serious contenders this season with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers fully recovered from last season's Achilles tear. But the Jets got off to a 2-3 start with their offense looking lackluster with the 40-year-old signal-caller behind center.

There were reports that Saleh wanted to part ways with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, or at least strip him of his play-calling duties. That seemed unlikely to happen under Rodgers' watch with Hackett being close to Rodgers -- the two spent three seasons together with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers vehemently denied having any input into the decision to can Saleh.

Many executive believe the Jets should have exercised some patience with Saleh, but instead they showed him the door.

"Five games into his first (true) season with Aaron Rodgers seems a little premature to me," another executive said to Howe.

Saleh certainly hadn't inspired much confidence in his coaching ability during his three-plus seasons at the helm of the Jets. He went 20-36 during his tenure with New York, but had back-to-back 7-10 seasons in 2022 and 2023, which seems remarkable since Zach Wilson was the team's starting quarterback for a large chunk of those games.

It was supposed to be different with Rodgers leading the way. But the Jets got a feeling that it would just be the same with Saleh at the controls.

"I was definitely a little surprised by the timing of it," an assistant coach told Howe. "It was probably inevitable, but it's more of the Jets not being able to get out of their own way. I'm not sure what the firing now does, but I guess we'll see."