Did Jets make the right move in firing Robert Saleh? What does it mean for Aaron Rodgers?

The New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh after two consecutive losses and a 2-3 record this season. Saleh went 20-36 over three-plus seasons with the Jets after a successful stint as the San Francisco 49ers‘ defensive coordinator.

He continued his stellar track record on that side of the ball in New York, as the Jets consistently ranked among the top five in the NFL in total defense and currently have the second-fewest yards allowed (255.8 per game) this season.

However, New York struggled mightily on offense as quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, never panned out, and a decision to go all-in on acquiring four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in 2023 has backfired thus far. Rodgers missed nearly all of his first season with the Jets due to a torn Achilles suffered in Week 1 and the 40-year-old has struggled thus far this year. The Jets only mustered 26 total points over the past two weeks, losing back-to-back games against the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be interim head coach while offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett — a close friend of Rodgers — will reportedly remain in place despite the issues in that unit so far. (Saleh was reportedly considering firing Hackett earlier this week.) So what does Jets owner Woody Johnson’s decision to dismiss Saleh say about the trajectory of the team as well as Rodgers himself? FS1 personalities weighed in with their instant reactions to the news.

Craig Carton: The Jets are all in, but Rodgers isn’t blameless

“Breakfast Ball” co-host and noted Jets fan Craig Carton believes that the team’s decision to fire Saleh might be a sign that the organization has turned the page in a good way.

“This is very un-Jets like,” Carton said. “Normally, we stick with bad coaches. We stick with losing coaches. We stick with losing players. This shows you if anyone ever doubted the Jets are all in to win right now, firing Robert Saleh five weeks into the season at 2-3, playing for first place on Monday night against the Bills, shows you that we are all in to win right now.”

However, Carton isn’t entirely certain that firing Saleh was the right way to fix the Jets’ issues, thinking that the head coach might have been scapegoated for the quarterback’s underwhelming play.

“It also shows you that the dynamic between Aaron Rodgers and Robert Saleh was not good, probably never was good,” Carton said. “Now, the question is, who becomes interim head coach? Who becomes the future head coach? More important than all, does Aaron Rodgers ever wake up and start playing good football? Because he’s the reason that Robert Saleh just got fired. Shame.”

“Here’s the bottom line: Aaron Rodgers is a real snake in the grass. Consider this, if Greg Zuerlein makes the 50-some-yard field goal against the Denver Broncos, bang, that’s a win. If Aaron Rodgers hits a wide-open Garrett Wilson against the Vikings, bang, that’s a win. Then, the Jets are 4-1 and in first place. Robert Saleh had a losing record. This is not a defense of Robert Saleh, but man, Aaron Rodgers is a snake in the grass. Riddle me this, Batman, firing Robert Saleh makes the Jets’ offense better how? Maybe Aaron Rodgers should be fired.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers’ stats rank toward the middle of the pack among all quarterbacks. He’s 15th in passing yards (1,093), tied for 10th in passing touchdowns (seven) and 26th in passer rating (81.6). As a unit, the Jets’ offense ranks 27th in yards (286.6 per game) and 25th in scoring (18.6 points per game).

‘The Facility’ crew debates: Was Saleh firing justified, and what role did Rodgers play?

Shortly after receiving breaking news that Saleh was fired, Emmanuel Acho said on FS1’s “The Facility” that he thinks the Jets firing Saleh was justified.

“I’ve been saying there was a Robert Saleh problem,” Acho said. “We do not know if Robert Saleh is a good head coach. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is excellent. I love Robert Saleh as a linebackers coach. I like Robert Saleh as a defensive coordinator. There is much, much, much needed as a head coach … we know Robert Saleh is not a good head coach. He mismanaged the Zach Wilson–Mike White situation. Then, he mismanaged the Zach Wilson situation last year, and he’s mismanaged the situation this year.”

On the other hand, LeSean McCoy believes that New York made a mistake in canning Saleh at this point.

“Other than the Niners game, I can’t blame [Saleh] for anything,” McCoy said. “This last game against the Vikings, they should’ve won that game. First of all … Rodgers did nothing; he gave them three picks. On defense, though, they got two turnovers, so the only reason you score is because the defense got you good field positioning. What about the Broncos? That’s a gimme game.”

Chase Daniel speculated that Rodgers’ relationship with his head coach — which seemed to fracture at times on the field — played a role in Saleh’s dismissal.

“Their relationship [Rodgers and Saleh] is not great at all, so they’re thinking ‘we need to choose someone right now.’ We’re not benching Aaron Rodgers,’ so I wonder if Aaron Rodgers had a say in it,” Daniel opined. “You got to imagine for something big like this to happen, there’s something going on behind-the-scenes that’ll get out.”

Team owner Woody Johnson said in a press conference Tuesday that the decision to fire Saleh was purely his own and he did not speak to Rodgers about it beforehand. Rodgers’ former Green Bay Packers teammate James Jones seems to accept that account, claiming that it is not in Rodgers’ nature to demand a head coach’s firing.

“To sit here and say Rodgers has something to do with it — He has something to do with it, he whole offense has something to do with it because they did not win these last two games that they should’ve won if the offense played their part,” Jones said. “But Aaron Rodgers going up to the top saying ‘I don’t want Robert Saleh.’ That’s not even Aaron man. … Robert Saleh, since he’s been the head coach of the Jets, has not been good. It’s been a lot of ups and downs. It’s been a lot of scratching your head [and] what are you doing as a head coach.”

Colin Cowherd: Rash decision to fire Saleh, but coach didn’t help himself

Colin Cowherd believed that the writing for Saleh’s firing might have been on the wall because of Sunday’s 23-17 loss to the Vikings. Mentioning a point former Jets coach Eric Mangini brought up on “First Things First” last week, Cowherd said that game in London was important to Jets owner Woody Johnson because of the connections Johnson had there from former role as the ambassador to the United Kingdom. Mangini also thought the game was important to Johnson because they were going up against former Jets quarterback pick Sam Darnold, who New York selected No. 3 overall in 2018.

Thus, Cowherd believes that the decision to fire Saleh was a rash move made to help the organization feel better after a stinging loss, questioning Johnson’s motive.

“In the moment, for all you real life alphas out there, it feels good,” Cowherd said. “It’s like going to the batting cage when you’re in a bad mood to take a few whacks [and think], ‘Someone’s gotta pay for this!’ Congrats, you just fired the most competent coach on your staff. Nathaniel Hackett is probably the worst OC in the league. He’s still there because Aaron makes sure he’s there.

“So, this will be the fifth head coach in 11 years. Does this sound like a well-run business? If you owned a company and you were on your fifth CEO in 11 years, would you be a well-run company? For the record, if they beat the Bills on ‘Monday Night Football,’ that terrible Robert Saleh coach, they would’ve been in first place with way-past-his-prime Aaron Rodgers. … It feels good to fire the coach. It always feels good for poorly run businesses to fire people and think that will solve it.”

However, Cowherd pointed some blame at Saleh for his public messaging. He believed that Saleh could’ve done more to create less friction, at least through the eyes of the public, between himself  and Rodgers.

“He just couldn’t keep things to himself,” Cowherd said. “Remember when he said, ‘This is an unexcused absence’ during minicamp? Robert, keep it to yourself. Remember when he said, ‘Aaron Rodgers will not play in the preseason?’ Aaron was mystified by that. Keep it to yourself. When he banged on Aaron Rodgers, the best cadence quarterback in the NFL probably in my entire life, Aaron fired back. Coach … keep it to yourself.”

Cowherd and Nick Wright: The Jets are not a desirable place to coach

During an appearance on “The Herd,” “First Things First” co-host Nick Wright wondered why anyone would want to be the Jets’ next head coach, saying “if the only jobs that become open are Cleveland, Carolina and New Orleans, the Jets still aren’t a good job.”

“If you take over the Jets, what you have is a meddling owner, maybe a new front office, or it’s the game front office with a GM that’s sworn, ‘This is the year I fix the offensive line,’ for six consecutive years,’ a nice running back, a really nice wide receiver and three outstanding defensive players,” Wright said. “OK, congratulations, you just took over the 29th-best situation in a 32-team league. No, I don’t think it’s a good job in any job market.”

Cowherd was a bit more complimentary of the Jets roster, but also believes New York is not a top destination for an aspiring head coach.

“I don’t think it’s a great job. Maybe it’s an OK job because the roster’s good,” Cowherd said. “But I get not my GM, impulsive owner and a very prickly quarterback who’s thrown a couple of coaches — say what you want — under the bus. Ask [current Cowboys and former Packers coach] Mike McCarthy and Saleh. … This was not Woody Johnson [telling Rodgers] ‘Hey, surprise!’ I don’t buy that.”

But Cowherd also thinks the Jets will face even stiffer competition in the head coaching market than the scenario Wright floated, further diminishing their appeal.

“It’s a great potential year for job openings — Philly, Jacksonville, Dallas, Chicago, Cincinnati could all have new coaches,” Cowherd said. “Joe Burrow, Dak [Prescott], Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Hurts could all need a coach. Last year, there was only one great job opening — Chargers — that’s why [Jim] Harbaugh took it. … This year, you could have six.”

Chris Broussard: Hackett, not Saleh, should have been fired

Cowherd also believes that Hackett should have been fired instead of Saleh and would have understood much more if that had been the case. “First Things First” co-host Chris Broussard agrees.

“If one coach was going to be fired, it should have been Hackett,” Broussard said. “What is Hackett doing other than looking terrible with his boy, Aaron Rodgers? … One word comes to mind — scapegoat. [Saleh] is not Vince Lombardi, we all know that. But he’s a defensive coach, that’s what he’s great at, and their defense has been great.

“The problem is the offense. … One thing that’s undeniable is that had Rodgers played fairly well the last two weeks, they’d be 4-1 — at the very least 3-2 — and Robert Saleh would still be the head coach.”

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