Aaron Rodgers has broken his silence on the firing of Robert Saleh .
Speaking on the Oct. 9 episode of "The Pat McAfee Show," the Jets quarterback discussed the abrupt and surprising firing of Saleh, which came down just 24 hours earlier.
Rodgers made it clear that he had nothing to do with Saleh's firing , and that he had a positive relationship with the now-former Jets head coach.
"I love Coach Saleh, we have a very solid relationship, we have since I met him in 2021," Rodgers said on the show. "He was a big reason why I came to the Jets. I felt like the team was a solid team."
He added later in the interview that Saleh was a big draw in requesting a trade from the Packers.
"Like I said, I came to New York, part of the reason was how much I believe in Robert Saleh," he said.
Rodgers has come under the microscope for potentially being a driving force behind Saleh's firing because of his relationship with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett was potentially in line for a demotion when Saleh was let go on Monday, making for curious timing.
Where did it go wrong? Looking back at the Aaron Rodgers-Robert Saleh relationship
"As far as any of the ridiculous allegations out there, I'm not gonna spend more than one sentence in response to it," Rodgers said. "And that is that I resent any of those accusations because they are patently false.
"It's interesting the amount of power that people think that I have, which I don't."
Rodgers added that he had a conversation with Jets owner Woody Johnson on Monday night, but the call was strictly surrounding the health of his ankle, which Rodgers banged up in the Jets' Week 5 matchup vs. the Vikings in London.
Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been named the interim head coach for the Jets for the remainder of the season.
Rodgers finished his interview with a thank you to Saleh, and listed off some things he was appreciative of.
"I'm thankful for Robert, I'm thankful for his leadership of our team, I'm thankful for the conversations that we were able to have, and him trusting me, and the way he cared about his players," Rodgers said.
The Jets currently sit at 2-3 on the season and are facing a critical contest against the Buffalo Bills in the Week 6 "Monday Night Football" matchup.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Rodgers talks Robert Saleh's firing, more on 'The Pat McAfee Show'
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