Jets fire coach Robert Saleh amid struggles

NEW YORK — After their disappointing loss to the Vikings on Sunday in London, the Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the interim head coach, a source said. The Jets will host the Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 6 for first place in the AFC East.

Saleh had one year remaining on his contract that he signed in 2021.

“This morning, I informed Robert Saleh that he will no longer serve as the head coach of the Jets,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. "I thanked him for his hard work these past 3 1/2 years and wished him and his family well moving forward. This is not an easy decision, but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction.”

Saleh registered a 20-36 record in four seasons with the Jets. This is the first time since becoming the owner in 2000 that Johnson has fired a coach during the middle of the season.

The Jets hired Saleh as their coach in 2021, following a successful stint as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator from 2017-21. He replaced Adam Gase, who finished with a 2-14 record in 2020 before he was fired.

In Saleh’s first season with the team, the Jets finished 4-13. The following season, in 2022, the Jets went 7-10 and lost their final six games of the year after having a 7-4 record.

Following two seasons in which the team recorded back-to-back losing seasons, the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Packers in April 2023. At that point, Gang Green’s expectations changed.

However, Saleh received a mulligan following a 7-10 campaign in 2023 and Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tear. After Rodgers’ injury, the Jets started three quarterbacks: Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian. The team’s offense continued to finish near the bottom in yards and points per game. At NFL Honors in February, Johnson put Saleh and Jets general manager Joe Douglas on notice.

“They’ve seen me about as mad as I could be with what was going on with the offense particularly,” Johnson said. “We’ve got all this talent and we’ve got to deploy talent properly.

With Rodgers healthy, the Jets were again pegged as Super Bowl contenders. In Week 1, Gang Green lost in embarrassing fashion to San Francisco on Monday Night Football. The Jets then recovered by defeating the Titans and Patriots in back-to-back weeks.

But over the next two weeks, it was clear something needed to be fixed as the Jets offense continued to be putrid under Saleh’s leadership, following back-to-back losses to the Broncos and Vikings.

After scoring three touchdowns in three consecutive games, the Jets offense didn’t score a touchdown in the loss to the Broncos. In addition, the Jets committed 15 penalties against the Broncos, 13 of which were accepted.

In the postgame press conference following the loss to Denver, Saleh appeared to blame Rodgers’ cadence before days later saying the media created the issue.

At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday, the Jets fell behind 17-0 before coming back with a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter. But Rodgers threw an interception to Stephon Gilmore on the final drive, ending the Jets’ hopes of winning the game.

When speaking to SNY on Sunday, Quincy Williams raised eyebrows with his comments about the team.

“I’m going to be honest, people get tired of hearing the same s---,” Williams said. People gotta start taking accountability from the top to the bottom, that’s the main thing.”

The Jets are currently 27th in yards (286.6) and 25th in points per game (18.6).

Including Rodgers, six different players — Wilson, Mike White, Siemian, Joe Flacco, Boyle — started games for the Jets during Saleh’s tenure.

Wilson started 11 games in 2023 following Rodgers’ Achilles injury but was traded to the Broncos during the offseason.