Robert Saleh clearly entered the 2024 NFL season on the hot seat. Tuesday morning, the New York Jets hit his eject button.
Following a disappointing 2-3 start − and what appeared to be ongoing friction with superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers – Saleh became the first head coach in the league fired this season, a person familiar with the move told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been officially announced.
Thus ends another disappointing tenure for a Jets coach. Saleh, a Dearborn native, finished with a 20-36 record in three-plus seasons. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will take over as the interim coach, according to a person familiar with the team's plans.
Why did Jets fire Robert Saleh?
Despite consistently good defenses, the bread and butter for a longtime defensive assistant and coordinator, Saleh's tenure was undone by consistent quarterback issues – first Zach Wilson, the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NFL draft who was a near total bust, and Rodgers. The four-time MVP kindled long-awaited Super Bowl hopes for the franchise upon being acquired in 2023, but last year's Achilles injury and this season's turbulent start was apparently too much for owner Woody Johnson, who said during the offseason that he expected major results in 2024, to bear.
“We have all this talent, and we have to deploy talent properly. … This is it. This is the time to go. We’ve got to produce this year,” owner Woody Johnson said February during Super Bowl week, following Saleh's second consecutive 7-10 campaign.
“We have to do a lot better than seven (victories), definitely.”
The Jets haven't won more than seven games since 2015, when they went 10-6. They last reached the playoffs in 2010, their current 13-season drought the longest active one in the NFL. Their only Super Bowl appearance occurred following the 1968 season, when the upstart AFL team, led by brash quarterback Joe Namath, shocked the NFL's heavily favored Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl 3, still widely considered as one of the most important games in the history of pro football.
New York Jets statement after firing Robert Saleh
Jets owners and chairman Woody Johnson said Tuesday it wasn't an easy decision to fire Saleh but said "now is the best time for us to move in a different direction."
In appointing Jeff Ulbrich interim head coach, Johnson said the Jets "can get the most of our talented team and attain the goals we established this offseason."
Robert Saleh record with Jets
Saleh finished 20-36 in his three-plus seasons with the Jets, including a 2-3 record this season, and never rached the playoffs.
His firing comes two days after the Jets lost to the Vikings 23-17 in London.
Here's a look at Saleh's seasons with New York:
- 2021: 4-13
- 2022: 7-10
- 2023: 7-10
- 2024: 2-3
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Jets fire Dearborn native Robert Saleh after 2-3 start to season
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