League executives and coaches react to Jets firing Robert Saleh: 'It doesn't seem well thought out'

The New York Jets' decision to hire Fire coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday raised many eyebrows around the NFL.

FAQs asked by rival coaches and managers: What is the real logic behind this decision and what is the Jets' plan both in the short and long term?

Team owner Woody Johnson took sole responsibility for the decision to fire Saleh and said it was necessary to revitalize an underperforming team with a 2-3 record. At first glance, the strategy seems sound, but others in the league were skeptical.

“Win on Monday (at home against the Buffalo Bills) and you're in first place in the AFC East,” said a high-ranking executive who, like other sources in this story, was granted anonymity so he could speak candidly. “(The firing) seems premature.”

The primetime matchup against the Bills could have set the tone for the rest of the season. And it still could.

But now the Jets are faced with a distraction.

“This team is good enough to win the league,” said another executive. “But now you're not even focused on Buffalo because the coach just got fired. It just doesn't seem well thought out.”

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Ten managers and coaches of other teams took part in the survey Athlete about the decision to fire Salih. None of the 10 felt Saleh deserved to be sacked so quickly, putting the blame squarely on Johnson for making a rash decision.

“Five games in his first (right) season with Aaron Rodgers seems a little premature to me,” the third-year executive said.

Before the regular season Athlete 21 coaches and managers were surveyed to predict which teams would underperform in 2024. The Jets finished third with five votes. Panelists cited an aging Rodgers coming off a torn Achilles, an offensive system that lacked creativity in 2023 and numerous disruptions at home over the past year as among the reasons for the vote.

Thanks to these factors, the 2-3 start was not shocking. Saleh wasn't on the hot seat either. But one thing leading to another seemed impulsive at this early stage.

“I was definitely a little surprised by the timing,” the assistant coach said. “It was probably inevitable, but it was more about the Jets not being able to get out of their own way. I'm not sure what the shooting will bring now, but I guess we'll see.

Saleh once again felt the pressure to deliver better results this season. This part was never discussed. However, the Jets lost to the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in the opener and then the undefeated Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London. A week earlier, a 10-9 home loss to the Denver Broncos could be considered the only real error in the win-loss column this season. Their best win, combined with Rodgers' marquee performance, came in Week 3 against the New England Patriots, who appear to be in contention for the No. 1 pick in the draft.

“The pressure was on (Saleh),” another assistant coach said. “They looked like they were going to win the Super Bowl a few weeks ago and then (Saleh was fired after that) had a couple of bad games.”

Jets players and coaches have felt the atmosphere has broken down in recent days, and sources say there has been great frustration within the team over the lack of accountability for continuing problems on offense.

Players and coaches had concerns about Nathaniel Hackett…

— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 8, 2024

Dive deeper and the defense laid an egg against the Niners. Rodgers also noted after that game that the Jets were not prepared to play in the championship after such a humiliating loss. The offense then looked out of character after a hard-fought Week 2 win against the Tennessee Titans. The Vikings came away unscathed in their last two games against the Broncos. It's reasonable to think a leadership change could revitalize the Jets.

But again, was now the right time to look for such a shock? Bills quarterback Josh Allen had five interceptions in back-to-back losses to the Jets at the Meadowlands. The Jets' defense — led by defensive coordinator/interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich — has typically performed well in Salih's three-plus seasons in the job, but the challenge now will be to tackle the Bills with a new voice.

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Another executive said he wasn't sure what the exemption actually achieved because the defense and offense remained the same. “Either something was going on behind the scenes or (it was) just a movement in the hope that something would change,” he said.

If the Jets don't bounce back on Monday against the Bills, distractions could theoretically be magnified in the short week leading up to the road games against Liverpool. Pittsburgh Steelers and Patriots. While mid-season coach firings sometimes create that missing spark, they also create the potential for things to get out of control.

“Now everyone is doing lifelong coaching,” said one executive. “And at some point they will start focusing on looking for their next job.”

And then there's the elephant in the room.

Johnson said he spoke with Rodgers on Monday night, but Rodgers had no role in the decision to fire Saleh. However, people across the league have questioned the state of the relationship between Saleh and Rodgers as the player-coach dynamic has been the subject of questions in recent press conferences. The organization made every effort to maximize its potential and maximize Rodgers' comfort at Florham Park during his shortened window, which included bringing in many of the quarterback's allies.

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Any such move must also take into account the long-term strategy. Johnson will be hiring his eighth full-time head coach since taking over the team in 2000. Joe Douglas, the fifth general manager in the same period, also has to wonder about his fate, although he can take solace in the fact that he built a squad that Johnson just called the most talented during his tenure.

The next coach will take over a promising squad with talent on both ends of the pitch, including a huge draw in Rodgers, even though he turns 41 in December. But this coach will also be joining an organization that hasn't made the playoffs since the 2010 postseason. He has fewer playoff wins (six) than head coaches during Johnson's tenure.

“I don't know how it will get better,” said the director.

“The product they are putting on the field does NOT look like a team that has given up or is moving on from its head coach.”

In the latest episode of The Athletic Football Show titled @robertmays reflects on Robert Salih's surprising firing and the ramifications for the Jets.

🎧… pic.twitter.com/tYwsdne1TT

— Athletic NFL (@TheAthleticNFL) October 9, 2024

By becoming the first team to fire its head coach during the 2024 season, the Jets hope such a dramatic and unpopular assignment was a necessary step toward immediate improvement.

However, if it doesn't work, the Jets will once again have more questions than answers.