Jets fire Robert Saleh after 2-3 start; DC Jeff Ulbrich to become interim head coach

Schrager later reported that Saleh arrived at work on Tuesday ready to prepare for next Monday’s pivotal prime-time game against the Buffalo Bills, but was then called into a meeting with Woody Johnson and Jets vice chairman Christopher Johnson during which he learned his fate.

Defense wasn’t the issue under Saleh, as Gang Green finished in the top 5 in yards allowed and top 12 in points in each of the past two seasons. Through five weeks in 2024, New York’s D ranked second in yards allowed and fifth in points given up. However, the Jets could never figure out the offense, ranking in the bottom quarter of the NFL in yards and scoring in each of his four seasons. The inability to help develop Zach Wilson counted against Saleh’s scorecard. New York cycled through six QBs in the coach’s three-plus seasons at the helm.

Aaron Rodgers‘ acquisition in 2023 was supposed to change things for New York. However, a Week 1 Achilles tear wiped away that plan in Year 1. Saleh bungled the transition with Wilson, cycling through quarterbacks last season. Through five games this season, the offense still struggled under Nathaniel Hackett and Rodgers, as Gang Green has averaged 18.6 points per game and rarely found any consistency in an outdated scheme.

While Saleh and Rodgers said the right things, the relationship never seemed settled. An odd disagreement about the quarterback’s cadence becoming a storyline in New York last week underscored the seeming disconnect between coach and quarterback. Shrager, however, was told Rodgers did not have a signifcant role in the decision to fire Saleh.

Sitting at 2-3 in a struggling AFC East, with game against Bills on tap, there is still time for the Jets to turn things around. Saleh simply won’t be the man flying the plane.

Ulbrich played 10 seasons in the NFL and is a highly respected assistant. The 47-year-old joined Saleh’s staff as DC in 2021. Ulbrich worked as a head coach this offseason at the Senior Bowl. Now he gets a chance to do the real thing and try to save the Jets season.

This is the first time in Johnson’s 25 years of ownership that he has fired a coach mid-season.