The New York Jets became the first team to fire their head coach in 2024, as they handed Robert Saleh his walking papers after just five games played. The last NFL head coach to be fired five games into a season was Matt Rhule in 2022.
The Jets were 2-3, and it’s fair to say things were not going well. They were upset by the Denver Broncos in Week 4 after scoring just nine points, then lost to their former No. 3 overall pick, Sam Darnold, and the Minnesota Vikings in London. Jets owner Woody Johnson had enough, so he pulled the trigger on firing Saleh and named defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich the interim head coach.
This was a decision that shocked some. Saleh was certainly a head coach on the hot seat, but firing him just five weeks into the season? That’s something NFL legend Bill Belichick didn’t understand.
Recently, the former New England Patriots lead man addressed Saleh’s firing on the “Let’s Go!” podcast:
“It’s certainly tough. Particularly that situation. You know, it’s one of the best defensive teams in the league. Robert made them that way,” Belichick said, via ESPN. “They were 32nd his first year, and they’ve been consistently in the top five, top three in most categories. So he’s done a great job on that side of the ball. And then they’ve had some issues at quarterback, and now Aaron’s back, but out of football for a year.
“Just seemed like a little early to pull the trigger on that one to me. But not out of character for the owner. Woody’s always been kind of hard to predict what he’s gonna do. Some of it just is hard to make sense out of, but I think Saleh did a good job there. He brought a strong culture to the defense and obviously not quite there yet, but a long way to go in the season, seemed like a premature move.”
Saleh’s defenses were not the problem. It was the anemic offenses that stood out. The Jets averaged the fewest points per game in the NFL with Saleh as lead man (17.3). It’s true he had some pretty bad quarterback play, but with Aaron Rodgers back healthy, that was supposed to change. Through five weeks, New York’s ownership just didn’t see enough to have it feeling comfortable about the direction of the team.
