Why did the Jets fire head coach Robert Saleh before Week 6? What was Robert Saleh's time with the New York Jets like? Read the latest NFL news and notes.
On Tuesday morning, surprising news broke that the New York Jets had fired head coach Robert Saleh.
Saleh went 20-36 in a little over three seasons as the head coach of the Jets. He wasn't the worst head coach ever, but evidently, his time in New York had run its course.
Why was Robert Saleh fired? Let's look back on his time with the Jets.
The New York Jets hired Robert Saleh in 2021, joining the team after spending four seasons as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.
The Jets defense struggled in Saleh's first season, but it was a top-5 defense in yards and points allowed in 2022 and a top-5 defense in yards allowed again in 2023. The team currently sits second in that stat.
Jets rank 22nd in EPA per play on offense and 5th in EPA per play on defense
But Saleh was never able to figure out the quarterback position. And while you can't blame a defensive-minded coach fully for offensive struggles, he deserves some blame for a team that has finished 26th, 25th, and 31st in yards and sits 26th in that stat this season, right?
Saleh ultimately won just 35.7% of his games in New York.
Why Was Saleh Fired?
It's not completely clear why this was the week that broke things in the Meadowlands. The team posted a stinker in Week 5 in London against the Vikings, with Aaron Rodgers throwing three picks, and the team has a bye in Week 6, so the timing makes sense in that vein.
But firing Saleh doesn't fix the fact that Rodgers doesn't look like his old self and the offense can't do a lot with Rodgers playing football like he's been playing.
Maybe firing Saleh lights some kind of fire, but it feels like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The team is still flawed. Saleh wasn't an imperfect coach, but he still had the Jets playing strong defense.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
Our goal is to put out the highest-quality content and tools. Ads help us pay RotobBaller's award-winning writers as much as possible they are vital to the site's operations and team.
We would appreciate your support by either turning off your adblocker or signing up for our ad-free subscription tier. Thanks for being a reader!
Join Our VIP Community
For just $0.83/month, get an ad-free experience and access to RotoBaller's VIP Discord Chat Community