Aaron Rodgers shares truth over his role in New York Jets firing Robert Saleh

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has labeled all accusations linking him to the firing of head coach Robert Saleh as "false" and questioned why fans believe he has so much power at the organization.

Jets owner Woody Johnson announced Tuesday that Saleh had been relieved of his head coaching role just five weeks into the new season, despite the team competing for first place in the AFC East. It was the first time in Johnson's 25-year tenure as owner that he's fired a head coach during the season, leading to conspiracies that there was more to the story .

It was then revealed that Johnson called Rodgers on Monday night, and with Saleh being told the following morning he was no longer employed, fans began speculating that the Jets quarterback was involved. In a delayed appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers addressed the claims and shared the truth.

"As far as any of the ridiculous accusations out there, I'm not going to spend more than one sentence in response to it," Rodgers said on Wednesday. "That is, I resent any of those accusations because they're false. It's interesting the power that people think that I have, which I don't.

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Rodgers was then asked about his chat with the Jets owner on Monday night, and the quarterback revealed it was nothing more than a friendly call. "Yeah, I did talk to Woody. Woody called me on Monday night and we had a short conversation," Rodgers added.

"I appreciated the call, it was a genuine call, and he just asked me how I was doing. Obviously, I got rolled up in the game (against the Minnesota Vikings), and my ankle got pretty banged up. So he just called and asked how I was doing. We talked about the game and how disappointed I was in my performance, how I'm going to play better and turn this around. And then we hung up.

"At that point, Woody has no obligation to let me know what his plans are. Whether or not he knew what he was doing at that point is inconsequential. I just appreciated the call that he was checking on me, like a friend call."

It's rare that head coaches are fired so early into the season, especially as the Jets were 2-3 and could top the AFC East with a win over the Buffalo Bills on Monday. Players and coaches were "blindsided" by Tuesday's news, and Rodgers confirmed that everyone was feeling for Saleh all day.

"There were a lot of conversations after that," Rodgers said, offering insight into how the facility felt after Saleh was fired. "Football is a family atmosphere. You spend more time for many of us with these people than your own loved ones. It's a tight-knit community. I think everyone was feeling for Robert and worried about him."

To clear up any lingering doubts, Rodgers declared his love for Saleh and even admitted that he was a major factor in his decision to leave the Green Bay Packers for the Jets. "I love Robert, and it was one of those days yesterday," Rodgers said.

"It's a tough business. It's a beautiful profession, it's done so much for our lives but it's also a tough business. I love coach Saleh. We have a very solid relationship. We have done since I met him in 2021. He's a big reason why I came to the Jets.

"Solid team, I had a relationship with coach (Nathaniel) Hackett obviously, and I really liked coach Saleh... I had a lot of respect for him. It was a reminder yesterday of how tough the business is."