Did Lebanon Flag Get Robert Saleh Fired By Jets?

Maybe it was his 20-36 regular-season record and 0 playoff wins. Perhaps it was his clunky relationship with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which struggled through a five-game marriage. Could be just that owner Woody Johnson had seen enough after his team's sloppy 2-3 start.

All of those reasons for Robert Saleh being fired as head coach of the New York Jets Tuesday morning seem legitimate. But on the internet - where seemingly nothing occurs without a conspiracy attached to it - there was something else at play.

Would you believe ... Lebanon?

Despite Saleh wearing a Lebanese flag patch on several occasions over two years in honor of his parents immigrating to the U.S., New York "sports reporter"  and "free Palestine" supporter Emma Vigeland attempted to stoke a controversy.

Tweeted Vigeland : "I'm not saying Saleh wasn't already on the hot seat (he was), but it's important to point out that he wore a Lebanon arm patch during the game on Sunday."

As he has done before as part of the NFL's Heritage Program, Saleh displayed the Lebanese flag during last week's loss in London to the Minnesota Vikings. Coaches and players across the league are encouraged to wear a patch or helmet decal featuring their country of origin.

As nonsensical as Saleh's Lebanese shout-out being for his firing, Vigeland isn't alone in her preposterous suspicions.

New York sports radio personality Joe Benigno also thinks Johnson's move was politically motivated.

“There is no sugarcoating of what’s going on in the Middle East," Benigno said during an appearance on “The Jake Asman Show” Tuesday. "We all know about Hezbollah firing all these rockets out of Lebanon, and all what’s going on there, into Israel. We know he is Muslim. I think he is representing the people of Lebanon because I don’t believe the people of Lebanon really are happy with Hezbollah. I don’t think that’s the case at all. And I wonder if that has played into this in a way as well because I did see this on the regular news that this was actually brought up.”

Related: Robert Saleh Pens Letter To Jets Players, Coaches And Fans After Firing

A number of social media users slammed Saleh for the decision to wear the flag — disowning the beleaguered coach and his struggling team — which led to multiple outlets writing the story up as a controversy.

“Why was Robert Saleh wearing a Lebanese flag on his jacket!" one Twitter commentor wrote. "What a slap in the face to New Yorker !! Was it really necessary to wear that flag patch!!”